American Idol and scandal have been friends for a long time. The second season of the show alone was rife with media stories, from Studdard’s law suits to Abdul’s affair, to one contestant’s cups that ranneth over. Plenty of Idol fans still remember the day Frenchie Davis was unceremoniously booted from the show because of topless photos. After leaving reality TV, Frenchie went on to find Broadway success. But she hasn’t forgotten her brush with TV fame and shame.

A recent article from the Associated Press brought Frenchie back into the television limelight, when the Broadway star stated that she would like to receive a public apology from American Idol. But that’s not all she wants, according to the article. Frenchie stated that she was humiliated by the show, and thinks that an apology would be “a great start.” The reason all of this is surfacing again, four years later? Her name is Antonella Barba, and despite performances that have been routinely called “pitchy” and photos some might think of as “porn,” she keeps hanging around the Idol contestant pool.

After the first week of competition, many American Idol watchers believed brown-haired beauty Antonella Barba was headed straight for elimination. The judges’ remarks weren’t very complimentary (unless they were talking about her looks), and Barba looked rather out-of-place up on the big stage. Apparently, Barba’s problem is not with shyness – soon after her Idol debut, racy photos of the bombshell surfaced all over the Internet. The well-endowed twenty-year-old allegedly let it all hang out for cameras…exposing attributes that have nothing to do with her singing.

Many expected Barba to be outed from the show, because that’s exactly what happened in 2003 to Frenchie Davis, season 2 contestant. But in this case, Barba’s photos may have helped her secure a top slot among the other Idols – her rising popularity and excess media attention have made her a top contender in the competition. Frenchie Davis thinks it’s unfair, expecting an apology (and more) from the American Idol brass. Earlier this week, Frenchie fans staged a protest in her honor. There are even claims from some camps that there are racial issues at play. Why should Frenchie, a contestant of African-American descent, be expelled from the show when Antonella, Caucasian, was not?

Fans can expect to see a lot more of Barba to come, however, either way Thursday night’s American Idol results show plays out. If she gets eliminated, rumors say that she’ll have her pick of hot new gigs. Hugh Heffner, creator of Playboy, has already stated that he will consider Barba for an issue of his famous mag. New rumors (as yet unconfirmed) have surfaced stating that Joe Francis (Girls Gone Wild creator) might be willing to pay Barba an excess of $250,000 to appear in one of his new home-entertainment videos. Most Girls Gone Wild stars get offered free T-shirts for their on-screen antics. Six figures, in comparison,  is a heck of a great deal for Barba’s allegedly oft-seen boobs.