‘American Idol’ production company responds to Phillip Phillips lawsuit

The lawsuit filed by Phillip Phillips against “American Idol” producers 19 Entertainment is one that we are going to continue watching over the coming months, and for many reasons. What’s the major one? It mostly comes down to how this suit could end up changing the way many reality shows operate in the future when it comes to what they make off of the winner.

The contestants on every season sign a contract, and it’s a pretty extensive one that dictates how the early part of their career will go. While you can always argue that contestants should not sign it if they don’t understand what they are getting themselves into, we suppose that this is not a particularly easy thing for them to do. We don’t know the ins and outs of whatever deal Phillip had with them, so all we know is that he feels limited by what he can do and taken advantage of.

In a statement per The Hollywood Reporter, we at least now know the 19 Entertainment side of things. Take a look at what they had to say:

“We’re very proud of everything we’ve accomplished together with Phillip, working closely to help nurture his extraordinary talent and advance his career. We have always acted in the best interest of Phillip. We will vigorously defend ourselves from any baseless claims to the contrary and from any attempt to interfere with our rights and relationships.”

Regardless of how this suit goes, we cannot exactly see Phillip continuing to work with 19 in a great capacity moving forward, even if he is technically still under contract with him. We imagine that things are going to be tense, and it may even be hard for him to do what he wants to.

What do you think about this response, and is it what you expected? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some other TV news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)