Ousted ‘American Idol’ Corey Clark spoke with Access Hollywood about his brush with the law, claiming his exit was an “idol” publicity stunt. “I think it all has to do with ratings,” said Corey. “The very first thing they said before we got into this show was, ‘We’re not looking for superstars, we’re looking to make good TV.’” What did his 15-year-old sister, who Corey allegedly beat up have to say? “We just got in an argument like any brother or sister would.”

A Fox spokesperson responded to the New York Post to cries that they weaseled out of eliminating a contestant on the ‘American Idol’ show on Wednesday night. “We considered various ways to resolve the situation and felt this was the most fair, positive and equitable solution,” the spokesperson reasoned. The show had disqualified contestant Corey Clark for allegedly beating his kid sister, and eliminating two contestants in one week would have had dire financial impact… cutting the top rated reality series short one week.

A month after Fox disqualified Frenchie Davis from ‘American Idol’ amid revelations that she had posed topless on an Internet porn site, the network said on Monday it was expelling another finalist, Corey Clark, who is facing trial on misdemeanor charges of battery against his sister and resisting arrest. Fox said in a statement that Clark “withheld information about a prior arrest which, had it been known, might have affected his participation in the show. Due to his failure to disclose, compounded by an error in a police report which misspelled Corey’s name, the incident was not discovered during a background check. The producers and network feel that Corey’s behavior warrants his disqualification.”

‘American Idol’ finalist Corey Clark was arrested last October following a disturbance in his family’s Topeka, Kansas home. Neighbors called police after hearing a girl yelling inside the Clark residence on SW 33rd Terrace. A witness tells TheSmokingGun.com that while he heard loud noises coming from the home, “what finally caught my attention was a lot of screaming. Then I knew somebody was getting hurt.” When police arrived, Clark and his 15-year-old sister Alecia were questioned separately by officers. After about 15 minutes, Clark became confrontational with cops, screaming and yelling at officers, several of whom responded by wrestling him to the pavement. Clark was handcuffed behind his back and placed in a Topeka Police Department cruiser, where he was booked into the Shawnee County jail and charged with a variety of misdemeanors. Clark faces a maximum of a year in prison on two of the three filed misdemeanors, and a max of six months on the third count. Read more.