Booted Contestants Take Advantage of American Idol Diss

The Boston Herald has a simple message for fans: Don’t feel so sad for the dissed on American Idol.

For some, it’s the best thing that ever happened to them.

Last week, judge Simon Cowell said Kenneth Briggs looked like a “bush baby” and mocked Jonathan Jayne’s weight.

After five seasons of the show, it’s obvious that the producers only send through two kinds of contestants: the talented and those who would be better off speaking in sign language.

Since their American Idol Six spanking, Briggs - who says he wants to go by the name Michael Swale - and Jayne have been working the talk show circuit. They appeared last week on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel.”

Yesterday, the two sat down for a chat with Today’s Meredith Vieira that seemed to run twice as long as the show’s segment on Hillary Clinton’s decision to run for president.

Jayne confessed to Vieira that he’d next like to hit her old stomping ground, The View.

Surprise: They both have managers. If they can keep their chokehold on the spotlight, they may have careers worthy of William Hung. Remember him?

Yes, the judges on Fox’s American Idol are mean.

Next in news: war is bad, puppies are cute and apple pie tastes mighty fine.

It’s not until the live rounds - when viewers take control and decide who goes on to the next round - that American Idol transforms itself from the ugly stepsister of reality shows to the Cinderella story we all love.

What’s irksome is how much the judges moan about their long days and how they can’t put up with listening to one more bad singer.

Please. They are paid millions - millions - for what is a part-time gig in which they get to act like Hollywood fairy godmothers and set someone on a path to wealth and fame. And they act like it’s an imposition for them to be there, that they’re doing the world a favor.

But it’s too much to expect a little class from American Idol. After five seasons, however, we need to stop being surprised by the off-note dramatics.