Antonella American Idol - A.I. Producer Talks!

Entertainment Weekly reports that Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe says he has not seen any of the Internet pictures, and only learned of the sexually explicit shots from EW. ''We have really good background checks on everybody, and we deal with that every season,'' he says. ''It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the web?''

Says EW: "The naughty photos of the 20-year-old contestant began circulating around the Internet earlier this week. Despite less-than-stellar reviews from the judges for her off-key rendition of ''I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'' this week, Barbara somehow squeaked through to next round of the competition on Thursday's show."