Antonella Barba: America’s New Sexiest “Idol”

America's newest celebrity object is Antonella Barba. Yes, exactly. Who is she? Well, unless you've been living under a rock then you should at least be aware she has some connection with American Idol. If you're not aware, here's a refresher. Antonella Barba is one of 12 girls that made it into this years semi-finals of the FOX reality tv show. This past week she's been the subject of national attention due to some rather racy photos she apparently posed for at some time or another. Some are topless, some feature lingerie, some are more revealing and then the end all, very explicit photos featuring the New Jersey native performing things most of us wouldn't want mom & dad to see.

The authenticity of the latter photos has been called into question with a number of "experts" debating whether they were doctored, altered or whatever. That and support given by friends of Antonella's and the lack of a response from the Idol people seem to suggest the worst of the photos are just that, fakes. However, there remains the question of her status on the show. Apparently she will be performing this week so FOX has taken no immediate action.

Still, she has become an almost instant celebrity, even over shadowing Britney Spears owns dramatic demise. I ran across this article from Jeff Edelstein of Trentionian.com that I found quite interesting. In it Jeff talks about Barba's sudden rise to fame and poses a few interesting thoughts on the whole thing.

Her rise to fame is a result of some hot pics. Once again, our deep base of Puritan values bubbles to the forefront. It’s like we’re all a bunch of 12-year-olds stumbling across our Dad’s stash of Playboys. Like we’ve never seen a girl in lingerie before? But these pics hit, and we’re all a-twitter. Makes no sense. (Just keep ‘em coming, though. I am red-blooded American male, after all.)

Any sexual act that’s not good, old-fashioned biblical sex is reduced to a "sexual act." Every story you read about the is-it-her-or-isn’t-it-her dirty pictures part of the story refer to her performing a "sexual act." So what is this sexual act? Toe licking? Role play? Toe-licking role play? You won’t find the answer in any mainstream press. But know this: According to a Centers for Disease Control sex study, the "sexual act" in question is something that’s done by 90 percent of the American population aged 15-44. So it’s not like she’s some freak. She just decided to take pictures of it -- if it’s her, of course.

If you’re going to appear on a highly-rated reality show, it’s probably a good idea to leak some sexy pictures of yourself, and throw in a few X-rated ones if at all possible: It’s an old saw, but it’s true -- you can’t buy publicity like the kind Ms. Barba is getting. And if you think this doesn’t translate into votes, you’re kidding yourself.

He goes on the point out that Vice President Dick Cheney was almost blown up by the Taliban the other day yet Antonella Barba, a virtual no name in the who's who of modern pop culture is what everyone is talking about. Why? Because she appeared naked or semi-naked in a few photos.

So why is this such a big deal? So she posed for some racy photos, so she got a little wild at a few parties and flashed a bit of skin. How's that any different than what is on normal television every day or how is it worse than the "barely clothed" teen (by that I mean 13-15 year old teen) I passed at the mall the other day with the words "Porn Star" glittering across the rump of her shorts?

Is it that as a society we are just morally repressed? If this was Europe would anyone care? It's a compelling question and one that surely won't get answered anytime soon.

The real question though, the one everybody surely wants to know, is how long before the Playboy spread comes out, and like good little American we'll all run out and get it, then hide it under the bed on the off chance the neighbors ever find out such a thing.