DOCUMENT: Crime

Letters To FCC: Ruben Is Fat, Clay Rules

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Letters To FCC: Ruben Is Fat, Clay Rules

JULY 10--After Ruben Studdard was crowned the newest "American Idol," outraged fans of runner-up Clay Aiken claimed that the show's voting was rigged to favor the morbidly obese Alabaman. Aiken acolytes were so upset that they swamped the Federal Communications Commission with letters accusing Fox Television of sabotaging Clay's chances by limiting his fans's ability to get through on phone lines and vote for the North Carolina beanpole. While the FCC received thousands of form letters calling for a probe of the "Idol" outcome, dozens of other fans authored more personalized letters to the government regulators (copies of which TSG obtained via a Freedom of Information request). Below you'll find an entertaining assortment of those letters, many of which include nasty swipes about Studdard's weight and the prodigious amount of flop sweat that pours forth as he croons. As one writer concluded, "something stinks here and it's not Rubens sweaty 205 jersey." But in case you think all the missives were coming from miffed teenyboppers, we've included letters from a chemical engineer and a 56-year-old Colorado businesswoman. (10 pages)

More "Idol" gossip: remember Frenchie and Corey?