When Mandisa's name was announced as the next Idol-hopeful to be sent home, an awkward silence and series of reactions followed. The crowd, contestants, and judges were all visibly stunned - not by the fact that Mandisa was getting the boot, but instead by something called out by someone in the crowd.
Rumor has it that a group of teens called erupted in racial slurs directed at Mandisa.
A fan relayed this account on the official American Idol message board:
"Hey guys, I couldn't believe what happened the other night..I just got back today from California (Visiting family while they were on spring break) and we went to the results show because they had been on the waiting list since the beginning of last season. I just realized that some of you figured something was edited. Well I can tell you what happened...there were a group of 3 or 4 girls, by the looks they were white and hispanic teenagers...anyway, when Ryan announced that Mandisa was gone, they jumped up and were throwing their hands up yelling "Bye Bye N___er" and "Go Home N___a"..infact you can hear the last time it was said like some of you have pointed out...it was total shock in that room, guys..those girls were jerked out of that room faster than you could blink, but it had all already been said and had it's affect..needless to say, the mood of the whole place sunk and it never did regain the excitement...we were all left with sick feelings in our stomachs..there were several people that could be seen that had been crying, whether from anger or frustration..it was sad..We Love You Mandisa!"
Below is a video of the moment in question. The looks of shock on the audience's faces cannot be missed, with one audience member visibly mouthing the words "I [can't believe?] she said that." A visibly shocked Taylor Hicks can be seen abruptly stopping mid-clap. Some claim that they can hear at least one of the slurs in this clip.
Fans are reporting that an edited version of the show ran on the west coast, where the show is rebroadcast hours after originally airing.
East Coast Version? (Note Elliott's head turn - choppy editing)
When the crowd recovered from the shock of the racist comments, they exhibited overwhelming support for Mandisa as they rose to their feet and have her a loud standing ovation, drowning out any further (possible) slurs.
The author of the account from the American Idol message boards later posted a followup:
""I got home yesterday from vacation, and after getting settled back in I decided to check on the boards. Thats when I saw that some people were speaking about the possibility of the Results Show being edited. To be honest, I was not shocked at all to see it, because I knew what had happened at the show and at that time I could only imagine what America was thinking, because I couldn't see how the producers would be able to edit the show that quickly, and I was positive that the tv had picked up the incident.
So anyway, after seeing that it had been picked up and was being discussed on here, I chose to give my account of the situation. I knew from the beginning that there would be many skeptics out there thinking that I was a "troll" or "newbie" wanting to cause trouble on the boards. What I was shocked to actually see, was how some people decided to personally attack me, by not just calling me a troll but to judge my character and assume that I have a racial agenda.
I would like to thank those who have believed me, and even to those who respectfully disagreed with me. But to those of you who have maliciously attacked my integrity and character, I would like to just say this. I am a white male, so what would I have to gain to post something as horrible as what happened that evening if it was not true? I am an attention-seeking teen trolling the board to rile peoples' emotions. All I did in my post was give the most accurate account of what I saw and heard at the taping.
There are a couple things I'd like to clear up for some of the posters who are doing their best to try to decipher the audio themselves on the video. The incident began exactly after Ryan announced Mandisa was voted off, as everyone began to either jump up in celebration or scream in horror. As you can see, it abruptley stops and if they had had the cameras on Ryan, Mandisa and Elliot, you would have seen Ryan look towards the back of the room with his mouth open and Mandisa threw her hands to her face and groaned..Elliot was quick to comfort her and you could tell Ryan was stunned for a second, probably fighting in his head whether to try to comfort Mandisa or continue with his monologue. The chanting that some people have heard is not girls yelling the racial slurs, but people around saying "Over Here" as they were pointing the group out to security. After seeing the video myself now, I see where some people have been able to point out a young man saying something to the affect of "I can't believe they just said that"..not to mention the mid-clap pause by Taylor and the shocked reaction from all the contestants, judges and audience members.
Anyway, thats all I have to say. I just would like to ask that the personal attacks on me to please stop. I did not know there would be such hateful people out in this world, yet after what I witnessed Wednesday evening and on these boards from yesterday evening I have been proven wrong....
I told what happened on a post from yesterday. I have no idea if its been deleted or just lost. But yes, there were several teenage girls in the far back that began to yell racial slurs towards Mandisa as they were rejoicing the fact that she was leaving. Like I said in that post as well, after seeing the video I was even able to catch the last time it was being said, even though it was muffled because I remember the security coming and pulling them out, and they were still screaming it..the one girl who seemed to be the leading instigator yelled it out one more time as they were being shuffled to the door...thats when I was almost positive that AMerica had to of heard it because it was almost silent in the room at that time.
After the incident, the contestants and Mandisa's mother were up on stage with her. She ended up leaving the stage with a smile on her face, she's so strong. And to those who are wondering why it hasn't made it on the news. I'm wondering that maybe Mandisa has just putting it behind her, already forgiven the young girls, and didn't want it splashed on the news to give something like that publicity. I don't know the real answer to that though..."
