Case 1:13-cv-05174-NRB Document 1 Filed 07/24/13 Page 1 of 436 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JAERED N. ANDREWS, COREY D. CLARK, JACOB JOHN SMALLEY, DONNIE WILLIAMS, TERRELL BRITTENUM, DERRELL BRITTENUM, Case No. 13-CV-5174 (NRB) THOMAS DANIELS, AKRON WATSON, JU’NOT JOYNER, CHRIS GOLIGHTLY Plaintiffs, DEMAND FOR TRIAL BY JURY vs. FREMANTLEMEDIA N.A., INC., ECF CASE AMERICAN IDOL PRODUCTIONS, INC., 19 ENTERTAINMENT LTD. CORE MEDIA GROUP, INC. 21St CENTURY FOX, INC. FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. NIGEL LYTHGOE, KEN WARWICK FORD MOTOR COMPANY, INC., COCA-COLA COMPANY, INC., AT&T Defendants. CLASS-ACTION COMPLAINT COMES NOW the Plaintiffs, African-American citizens of the United States of America, JAERED N. ANDREWS, an individual citizen of the State of Ohio, COREY D. CLARK, an individual citizen of the State of Tennessee, JACOB JOHN SMALLEY, an individual citizen of the State of Oklahoma, DONNIE WILLIAMS, an individual citizen of the State of Florida, TERRELL BRITTENUM, an individual citizen of the State of New York, DERRELL JH FREEMAN LAW BLACK AMERICAN IDOLS 1 Case 1:13-cv-05174-NRB Document 1 Filed 07/24/13 Page 2 of 436 BRITTENUM, an individual citizen of the State of New York, THOMAS DANIELS, an individual citizen of the State of Oregon, AKRON WATSON, an individual citizen of the State of Texas, JU’NOT JOYNER, an individual citizen of the State of Maryland, and CHRIS GOLIGHTLY, an individual citizen of the State of California (collectively the “Plaintiffs” or “Black American Idols”) by and through their counsel, James H. Freeman, Esq. of JH FREEMAN LAW, 3 Columbus Circle, Floor 15, New York, NY 10019, to state their causes of action at law, in equity and through restorative justice as against FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH AMERICA, INC., AMERICAN IDOL PRODUCTIONS, INC., 19 ENTERTAINMENT, CORE MEDIA GROUP, INC., NIGEL LYTHGOE, KEN WARWICK, 21ST CENTURY FOX, INC., FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC., FORD MOTOR COMPANY, INC., COCA-COLA COMPANY, INC., and AT&T. “DEFENDANTS” PRODUCTION-DS + NETWORK-DS + OVERSEER-DS + SPONSOR-DS “PRODUCTION-DEFENDANTS” FREMANTLE MEDIA NORTHAMERICA, INC., AMERICAN IDOL PRODUCTIONS, INC., 19 ENTERTAINMENT, CORE MEDIA GROUP, INC., NIGEL LYTHGOE, KEN WARWICK. “NETWORK-DEFENDANTS” 21., FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. “OVERSEER-DEFENDANTS” NIGEL LYTHGOE, KEN WARWICK. “SPONSOR-DEFENDANTS” FORD MOTOR COMPANY, INC., COCA-COLA COMPANY, INC., and AT&T. “ENTERPRISE-DEFENDANTS” PRODUCTION-DEFENDANTS + NETWORK-DEFENDANTS + OVERSEER-DEFENDANTS JH FREEMAN LAW BLACK AMERICAN IDOLS 2 Case 1:13-cv-05174-NRB Document 1 Filed 07/24/13 Page 3 of 436 INTRODUCTION IN 1978, THURGOOD MARSHALL, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, offered the following words of wisdom: “It is unnecessary in 20th century America to have individual [Blacks] demonstrate that they have been victims of racial discrimination; the racism of our society has been so pervasive that none, regardless of wealth or position, has managed to escape its impact.” “The experience of [the Black Man] in America has been different in kind, not just degree, from that of other ethnic groups. It is not merely the history of slavery alone but also that a whole people were marked as inferior by law. And that mark has endured. The dream of America as the great melting pot has not been realized for the [Black Man]; because of his skin color he never even made it into the pot.”1 FOUNDING IDEALS Our Nation’s Founding Fathers were dedicated to the Ideals of the Enlightenment, as expressed through the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (“All Men are Created Equal”; “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”), U.S. CONSTITUTION (“We the People”; “Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves”) and the BILL OF RIGHTS (“Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Religion”). James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, the Chief Architects of the U.S. Constitution, derived some of their political beliefs about the new “American Experiment” from English philosopher John Locke, who argued that individuals should be free to make choices about how to conduct their lives as long as they do not interfere with the liberty of others. Jefferson derived the phrase “All Men Are Created Equal” from an idea earlier expressed by Scottish philosopher Francis Hutcheson, who declared that: “Nature makes none masters, none slaves.” By embracing the Ideals of Enlightenment in 1789, the Founding Fathers rejected the Old World view of a central monarchy based on social caste systems. The revolutionary idea of American society was to abolish such pre-determined notions and recognize instead the individual’s natural, inalienable rights to determine their own destiny. The Founders stood for the proposition that all individuals are endowed with the right to self-determination: to define their own contribution to society through individual merit, content of character and hard work – that’s the “American Dream.” The use of stereotypes to ascribe negative judgments to individuals based on their racial identity constitutes a direct attack on the ideal of self-determination. Indeed, racial stereotypes turn the dreams of ALL Americans into nightmares. 1 Regents v. Bakke, 438 U.S. at 400–01, 98 S.Ct. at 2804, (Marshall, J. dissent). i Case 1:13-cv-05174-NRB Document 1 Filed 07/24/13 Page 4 of 436 AMERICAN IDOL American Idol is a “Reality TV” singing competition that swept into the United States from Great Britain in June 2002 and quickly become a pop culture phenomenon. The program format and intellectual property is produced and owned by Defendants FremantleMedia, N.A., Inc., American Idol Productions, Inc., 19 Entertainment, Core Media Group, Inc. (the “PRODUCTION-DEFENDANTS”). The show is broadcast on the FOX network, which is owned and operated by Defendants 21st Century Fox, Inc. and Fox Broadcasting, Inc. (the “NETWORK-DEFENDANTS”) Defendants Ford Motor Company, Coca-Cola Company, and AT&T (the “SPONSOR-DEFENDANTS”) have served as the “marquee” sponsors of American Idol since the first season (2002) and have played an active role in the decision-making process behind the production. Commercial advertisements for the show market American Idol to U.S. audiences as representing a tangible opportunity to achieve the “American Dream.” Defendants’ advertising campaigns offer the promise of a long-term career opportunity in the music industry, in addition to the Life-altering benefits derived from being declared the winner of the most popular talent contest in U.S. history. Defendants leveraged the commercial success of its former winning contestants, such as Kelly Clarkson (Season One), to aggressively market their version of the “American Dream” to this Nation’s young recording artists. QUALIFIED to be the “Next American Idol” Plaintiffs are all former top-ranking African-American contestants who were featured on the popular television program American Idol from 2003 through 2010. Plaintiffs were and are extraordinarily talented young American singers whose dreams, hopes and aspirations as teenagers were inextricably linked to their passion for music and drive to make it in the professional recording industry. 1. Jaered N. Andrews –Top 24 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Two (2003)] 2. Corey D. Clark –Top 10 American Idol Finalist [Season Two (2003)] 3. Jacob John Smalley – Top 32 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Two (2003)] 4. Donnie Williams –Top 32 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Three (2003)] 5. Terrell Brittennum - Top 24 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Five (2006) / Seven (2008)] 6. Derrell Brittenum - Top 24 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Five (2006) / Seven (2008)] 7. Thomas Daniels - Top 32 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Six (2007)] 8. Akron Watson - American Idol “Golden Ticket” Winner [Season Six (2007)] ii Case 1:13-cv-05174-NRB Document 1 Filed 07/24/13 Page 5 of 436 9. Ju’Not Joyner - Top 36 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Eight (2009)] 10. Chris Golightly - Top 24 American Idol Semi-Finalist [Season Nine (2010)] In their respective seasons, each of the Plaintiffs auditioned for the American Idol contest alongside roughly 70,000-100,000 other young hopefuls. After passing through an initial “cattle call” followed by a litany of preliminary screening rounds, Plaintiffs were ultimately afforded the opportunity to sing before the panel of expert music industry Judges, consisting of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, among others. Each of the Plaintiffs named herein, based on their individual merit, dedication to their craft, and unique singing voices, were awarded a “Golden Ticket to Hollywood” by the panel of expert industry judges. This meant that they were deemed professionally qualified to enter the American Idol Contest as bona fide contestants. Plaintiffs were thereafter flown at the PRODUCTION-DEFENDANTS’ expense to Los Angeles, California to compete in “Hollywood Week”.2 At the conclusion of the Hollywood rounds, each Plaintiff was selected by the American Idol judges as a member of the Semi-Finalist class. This meant that each Plaintiff would be awarded the opportunity to sing for the popular vote of the American people. That was, after all, the entire premise of the marketing campaign behind American Idol – the “hook” that distinguished it from all other televised talent contests that came before it – it was the national viewing audience who would decide their fate now. But the nefarious minds behind the American Idol production had other plans for these talented young men. Rather than allow them to compete for the valuable prizes on the basis of