'Idol' Contestant Danced At Gay Strip Club, Venue Claims

LOS ANGELES — David Hernandez's stripper past didn't come back to haunt him on Tuesday night's "American Idol." Hernandez's three-year stint as a male stripper wasn't even mentioned during the live telecast, which featured the 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., performing a rendition of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." However, acerbic judge Simon Cowell did mutter something about stripping, off camera, immediately after the song ended.

Randy Jackson called Hernandez's singing "pitchy" but said he had a "big ol' voice." Paula Abdul raved that Hernandez had some of the "best vocals." And Simon Cowell said it wasn't as good as last week, but Hernandez had secured himself a place in the finals.

On Thursday, 16 semifinalists will be narrowed down to the final 12 contestants.

Other than Cowell, no one alluded to Monday's news that Hernandez worked for three years in Phoenix at Dick's Cabaret. There, he would appear fully nude and perform lap dances for the club's "mostly male" clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan told The Associated Press on Monday.

It apparently wasn't Hernandez's "most embarrassing moment" either. (Contestants had to 'fess up about theirs during the show.) In a taped segment before his performance, Hernandez said his red-faced moment happened when he discovered he had "a pea-sized booger" in his nose following a photo shoot.

Fox and the producers have declined to comment about Hernandez.

In 2003, semifinalist Frenchie Davis was dismissed from "Idol" because of her appearance on an adult Web site, but Antonella Barba remained in the competition last year after racy photos of her surfaced on the Internet.

Third-place finisher Nikki McKibbin from the first "Idol" season briefly worked as stripper before the show, according to Joe Cannizzaro, president of McKibbin's record label, Chenoa Music. Like Hernandez, McKibbin wasn't dismissed from the show when her history as a stripper was publicly revealed _ nor was it disclosed on the show.

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Dick's Cabaret manager Bryan told the AP he was aware that Hernandez was a vocalist, but that Hernandez never sang at the club. Bryan said he now believes Hernandez stopped working at the strip club on Sept. 30, 2007, because of his participation in "Idol."

On a video posted on AmericanIdol.com, Hernandez said he broke the lease on his apartment and lived out of his car before auditioning for "Idol." And, when asked in a Q&A posted on the site which talent would he would most like to have if he couldn't sing, Hernandez responded: "Dancing! I'm horrible at that."

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AP writer Erin Carlson in New York contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

American Idol: http://www.americanidol.com/

Comments

[SkuddGobang]

I'm sorry... so?

who cares? Man, the uptight masses out there who think anyone who's only been naked in the shower with the lights off and the door triple-bolted is worth winning a karaoke contest.

I swear, we're so freaking caught up in the "GOTCHA" game that we actually think that doing a bit of GoGo dancing makes you unfit for a reality show.

I'd rather listen to someone who'd dance semi-naked than Clay Aiken who probably turns the lights off to pee.

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

I never saw him!

[nitpicker]

So?

[roger3815]

Why is this even news? How mean spirited can someone be?

[esgabel]

Who cares? He has a great voice! As Simon always says "this is a singing competition!" Nothing outside of that should matter.

[situationcritical]

Whatever.

[daveny]

Just as a side note -- a LOT of go-go boys and male strippers (yes, at gay clubs) are STRAIGHT.

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

Hey, ya go where the money and the jobs are, and there's a lot more money for hot lookin guys in the gay side of the industry than the straight side!

[Charity]

and Goldie Hawn was a go-go dancer in cage with a pole in NYC.

and Sly Stallone was in a soft porn flick.

i don't think their earlier work, just to survive, ruined their careers.

this guy on American Idol can actually sing, btw.

=============

[jadez]

you people are being naive.
idol is a big commercial.
its all about marketing a singer that comes with a built in audience,
so some record company can make a ton of cash.

the reality is a known gay singer does not meet the "proper" requirements.

ask kd lang.

[Jimmyboyo]

KD Lang is worth millions

What areyou talking about?

[SkuddGobang]

yeah, I'm sure kd lang sits in her mansion among her gold records crying about how nobody will listen to her. As does Elton John. I'm sure Melissa Etheride and Judas Priest are presently waiting in the line at a Soup Kitchen.. And poor, penniless Pet Shop Boys. How will they ever pay for their five houses?

Some people really need to get out more.

[Nanotyrnns]

Sure kd lang is doing ok, but it was said at the time that the reason Clay Aiken wouldn't come out and say "I'm Big Honkin' Gay" is because the target demographic for American Idol is 14 year old girls in trailer parks, not 21 year old club boys that rave the night away until 6 am in the morning. They want a screamin' audience full of young girls and you don't get that with former gay bar strippers. They will probably allow him to stay, but he'll be eliminated soon enough along with Danny Noriega. No matter how good they sing, there will not be a gay American Idol.

[deedrdo]

yada yada. the oscar for best screenplay just went to a former stripper. my best friend and her sister used to be strippers...both wonderful moms, great women and excellent human beings. you should see the beautiful homes they bought with all those dollar bills. oh, and the kids all have nice cushy college funds.

it's a job. simple as that.

[TakeBackAmerica]

I hope they don't kick him off the show. He's definitely a finalist. I bet if he was a Chippendale's dancer they would have made a feature out of it on the show. Can't have any out gay men around - might offend some right wing freaks.

[drkazmd65]

Well put TakeBackAmerica.

If the guy isn't doing it currently and hasn't for a couple of years - who friggin' cares?

I thought Frenchie got the raw end of the deal a couple of years back. That chick could sing also.

[IntrepidReader]

American Idol already has one outrageous stereotypically gay contestant this season, David Noriega, but he's that type of clownish, flaming gay that America allows. David Hernandez is hot looking, muscular, and masculine; that confuses those who think they "know" what gay looks like.

It will be a shame for him to be pushed off the show for this, but I can't imagine a lap-dancing male stripper from a gay bar will be allowed to remain. My guess is that they will absolutely sabotage him with scathing criticism, bury him in the performance lineup, stick him with a bad song choice and strongly encourage voters to send him home. That's how they handled getting rid of a girl last year after pictures of her not only naked but performing oral sex made the rounds on the internet. It lets the show shrug and say "we didn't kick him off, the voters did".

Saddest thing about it is that the guy is talented and has a good singing voice. I've seen him take old tired songs from years ago and breathe new life into them, and he really does have the looks to be a front man or a solo entertainer.

[PhxJustice]

"American Idol already has one outrageous stereotypically gay contestant this season, David Noriega, but he's that type of clownish, flaming gay that America allows. David Hernandez is hot looking, muscular, and masculine; that confuses those who think they "know" what gay looks like."

No where in the article does it say that David is gay, only that he worked at a "gay" strip club. I happen to know the club in question and I also know Mr. Bryan personally. There are a lot of straight males who work at the club in order to make some extra money. As it is the only male strip club in the Phoenix area, both gay guys and straight women frequent the club.

But back to my original thought: Why is it assumed that because he stripped at a club that is predominately gay, that he is gay as well?

[xdevildawg4u]

It's comments like this one that makes it clear that this is ALL about homophobia. The issue here isn't whether it's OK for him to be a stripper, the issue is whether or not he's gay. Therefore people, like PhxJustice, start dissecting the story to point out that even if he stripped in a gay club or tended bar in a gay club it doesn't necessarily mean he's GUILTY of being gay. He could just be a perfectly normal, acceptable, respectable straight men who's out to make a buck from the queers.

I find this whole story, and the discussion surrounding it to be chocked full of subtle homophobia.

That's very disappointing and sad to see on a progressive site that should know better!

[jadez]

yawn.
the big question is ,why are only obviously gay men and skinny blond girls the only people that can sing in America?

[CAMBEL]

Gee, what a shock, a guy who wants to be an entertainer is gay. The only thing that is a shame would be if that kept him from continuing on the show.

[nazirmo]

For your information one brilliant performer we know is a gay and he is Sir Elton John

[cindyw]

Is there anyone in the world who doesn't know this?

[Jellybelly]

If he's a Republican then its okay to be a gay stripper. But if he's a Democrat then he needs to go. We can't have those dirty perverts on a TV show. There are children watching.