‘Pop Idol’ season two winner Michelle McManus has responded to Elton John’s rant about ‘Idol’ and ‘X Factor’. “They’re given an awful sense of stardom and pressure straight away but are only successful until the next series,” Elton explained to The Mirror. “The record companies sell a lot of records and those people are gone. It’s fu**ing cruel. Look at Michelle McManus. She’s a really good singer and now she’s forgotten.” McManus told The Mirror, “I found it a really positive experience and a great opportunity. I’ve got new management now and my own radio show. Plus I’m getting stuck into my second album.”

Sandy Schaffer, of the National Association To Advance Fat Acceptance, spoke with ‘Access Hollywood’ over ‘American Idol’ judge Simon Cowell’s continuing wisecracks about overweight contestants on the hit program. “The show seems to be saying you can’t be gay, you can’t be fat, you can’t be anything different,” Sandy complained. “It absolutely desensitizes the audience. It starts to make you feel this is OK.” Fellow ‘Idol’ judge Paula Abdul said of Mr. Nasty: “He’s an ass. He’s a pill. He says the dumbest things sometimes.” But with Cowell’s pocketbook on the line, his insensitive remarks may be prompted by the failure of the UK’s ‘Pop Idol’ season two champ Michelle McManus.

‘Pop Idol’ judge Pete Waterman tells New magazine the second season of the competition convinced him to quit because he feels bad about how Michelle McManus was treated after winning. “I think what we did to Michelle was appalling,” he said. “We should have been taken off the air. She didn’t have a great voice and she was grossly overweight. But we made her believe that she was talented enough to win, when she never was. That makes us guilty of lying to the public.”

‘Pop Idol’ season two champ Michelle McManus posted a message to fans on her official website on Tuesday. The singer writes, “First of all I just wanna thank all you guys who have stuck with me this whole year and I’m really looking forward to the next one. There’s lots of exciting stuff coming up next year but of course, as always, you guys will hear it first on the website.”

‘Pop Idol’ champ Michelle McManus is furious that she has been branded the show’s worst singer after her record sales disappointed. “Nicola from Big Brother released a record that bombed and no one blamed her,” McManus explained. “I’ve done far better than most TV stars with a recording career - it’s about time I was cut a bit of slack.”