For the week of AUGUST 11-17, 2003
JUSTIN KAHN/WIRE IMAGE |
TWILIGHT OF THE IDOL
A few weeks ago supersize American Idol champ RUBEN STUDDARD was living large. The man had his own teddy bear! But soon runner-up Clay Aiken's single started outpacing Studdard's on the charts, and now the portly pop star is getting into it with 205 Flava, makers of his signature shirts. Studdard sued the company for using his image to sell clothes, but 205 (it's the area code for Birmingham, Ala., Studdard's hometown) promptly dialed it up a notch, claiming that it paid Studdard to wear its clothes on TV — a violation of Idol rules. It's almost enough to make you miss Justin Guarini. Almost.
— Lev Grossman
|
