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Is 'American Idol' rigged? Fans say this finalist was 'robbed' and they’ve got screenshots to prove it

'American Idol' viewers call out 'rigged' voting system after show crowns Jamal Roberts as Season 23 winner

On Sunday, May 18, the top 3 finalists, Breanna Nix, Jamal Roberts, and John Foster, competed for the coveted 'American Idol' trophy. While Roberts ultimately took home the win and Foster landed as runner-up, Nix finished in third place. Despite Nix belting out a soulful rendition of Katy Nichole's 'In Jesus Name' and Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb', she fell short in the public vote. And viewers of the show think there's a reason for this: The show is rigged. Now, ardent fans of 'American Idol' have taken to social media to drop their two-cents on how Nix deserved to win.

An 'American Idol' viewer expressed disappointment on Twitter and said, "Breanna should have won. She has the Best vocals hands down." Pointing the finger at the voting system with "proof," another viewer wrote, "American Idol thought otherwise. There are numerous reports that Breanna fans could not vote for her through text. #AmericanIdol voting was rigged. There are screenshots for proof." Echoing the same sentiment, a netizen Tweeted, "Breanna Nix was ROBBED!! Jamal is great, but the country guy... cmon!"

From a fairness standpoint, the show's format has from the beginning in favor of viewers, allowing them to vote rather than leaving their fates in the hands of the judges panel, eliminating any chances of bias in the first place. The show allows viewers to vote for their favorite contestant in three ways: First, through the idolvote.abc.com, second, through the 'American Idol' app, and third, via SMS Text, with 10 votes each per method per person, as reported by Collider. The viewers also get a chance to cast their votes live. While most people rush to vote for their favorite without watching all the performances, others wait till the end of the episode. This difference in voting can also lead to speculations of voting being rigged or unfair.

No denying that in times of modern technology, many other factors can come into play. Becky Worley, a technology contributor with 'Good Morning America', revealed what could go wrong with the voting. "As a democratic society, we think that anything involving voting is going to be incredibly fair," she said in an interview with ABC News in 2007. She added, "With technology today, there are lots of ways to subvert the system." Worley explained, "American Idol' tells viewers to vote by calling or sending a text message, but thousands of people have found other ways to give their favorite contestants an advantage, such as with "phone freaking." 

She continued, "Basically, with phone freaking you download a program from the Internet. … Your computer becomes a power dialer that can make up to 1,200 phone calls a minute," Worley said. "That can shut out a lot of other people."  Talking about computer hackers tampering with the number of votes, Worley said, "That would be a pretty elaborate process, but if we are talking about someone who has money riding on this, say with an online gambling site, you can see the incentive."

However, according to the aforementioned outlet, Fox quickly downplayed the impact of such scenarios and claimed that even if there are potential risks of voting being skewed by hackers, it is minuscule when compared to the millions of votes that people cast each week and that it doesn't affect the outcome one bit. At the end of the day, despite many controversies, the show has remained one of the top reality shows in the U.S. With 23 seasons down, the number of viewers has only increased, as the show lives on not only to entertain but also continues to be a platform for many artists to kick-start their musical journey.