Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Frank Micelotta/Fox
Sarah Palin’s latest book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag, won’t be released until next Thursday, but fightin’ words from it have already leaked—and her American heart does not reflect fondly on the likes of Lee DeWyze.
“Did you ever wonder where the producers of American Idol come up with the seemingly endless supply of people who can’t sing but are deluded enough to get in front of a national television audience and screech out a song anyway?” Palin asks, according to a report on MTV.com.
Contestants on reality talent shows like Idol, she says, are victims of “the cult of self-esteem. No one they have encountered in their lives—from their parents to their teachers to their president—wanted them to feel bad by hearing the truth.”
Simon, however, gets a pass: “Cowell can be a little harsh at times, but he upholds the highest standards and something in us recognizes and responds to that,” she writes. “Unfortunately Cowell is almost alone in his willingness to tell hard truths.”
Without hard-truth tellers like him, she writes, “a growing chorus of voices is trying to convince our kids that hard work isn’t necessary anymore.”
And with that, her daughter Bristol, currently a controversial finalist on Dancing With the Stars replied: [step ball change thud] “Shazam!”
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More from EW.com:
‘Glee’ cast announces European tour
Akon vows to never release any more Michael Jackson tracks
Keep chirpin’ Sarah, just keep chirpin
“Didja ever wonder where the Republican party comes up with VP nominees and chairpeople?”
Does she realize that FOX and FOXNews are run by the same person, who is also kinda her boss?
Darn you Elizabeth, you stole my post idea! : )
This coming from the lady who’s interviews crack me up! I don’t even know if she knows what the heck she is talking about all the time!
The funny thing is, Sarah is NO BETTER than American Idol contestants. Even Sanjaya is smarter than her.
“Contestants on reality talent shows like [DWTS] are victims of “the cult of self-esteem. No one they have encountered in their lives—from their parents to their teachers to their president—wanted them to feel bad by hearing the truth.”
Maybe she should have told this to Bristol…
I’m not a fan of Sarah Palin but I have to disagree with you. Dancing with the Stars is not based on “talent”. They get contestants who are “stars” and teach them to dance. I think what Ms. Palin is trying to say is that all of those contestants on American Idol (in the audition phase) can not sing a tune to save their lives, and for some reason they seem to think they are the next Beyonce. It’s the society we live in now, where everyone needs to be praised, and don’t dare give negative feed back. We are now entering a world that is going to be run by people who have no real sense of “truth”.
Well that’s all well and good but we’ve all heard how she and her camp react when someone criticizes her credentials and she may be running for the most powerful office in the world. And she’s also gone to great lengths to take on anubody who dares question why her kid is still on DWTS when most people think she should have been voted off weeks ago.
Yeah alot of these kids aren’t very talented and some are downright delusional but no more delusional than she is.
Most people think that? Obviously not. I don’t watch the show but clearly people are VOTING for Bristol. But news flash: it’s hardly the first time that people have voted for someone who was not the most talented on a reality show. Get over it.
The same can be said for Ms. Palin and her daughter Bristol. Meanwhile, Mama Grisly (sic) has another “teen activist” in her family. Mark my words! Willow is the next to get knocked up! HA!
I’m not a fan of Sarah Palin either, but her point is valid. I teach 18 and 19 year olds, and many of them think they deserve A’s just for showing up. Many more of them think they deserve A’s for “trying hard.” It’s a shock when they find out they actually have to work for a good grade.
What a minute what? Sarah is a blight on humanity. Well Sarah, the hard truth is that Bristol sucks a$$ and should have been removed from DWTS weeks ago. Brandy was wonderful, she should be in the finals!
Truer words have never been spoken.
Not an A.I. fan, but Sarah Palin is intelligence deprived.
wow- I wish she was wrong, but she’s absolutely right. Think back to the “no score” baseball games you played in Little League….would your world have ended if you had lost the game?! We pad the world for these kids, and do everything to make sure they do not actually have to experience life, and then wonder why they are so messed up. Why are kids/teens so self-absorbed? Because we made sure their faults were never mentioned, while their mediocre accomplishments are held in higher regards than winning the lottery. There is no “better luck next time” anymore, because it’s become “my mom will sue if you say that I lost, so give me the praise I didn’t earn, or else”.
She is talking about her daughter right? Or her own career in politics?
She is probaly talking about her career in politics,She didnt stay with her job as Governor,she sure dont need to run for President, she would just cop out,she dont even know were Russia is she needs to shut up and stay in Alaska and keep hunting and fishing.
I call Sarah Palin “intelligence-deprived.”
I agree
Exactly.
Ditto.
I guess Sarah Palin is the same kind of parent as those she is criticizing because her daughter is a no-talent reality show contestant. Do as I say, not as I do, right?
Palin knows her audience. Fox conservatives love a mean-spirited bully. Doesn’t matter that the bullying is all based on hypocrisy.
And yet her followers love her…as America just gets dumber!
Just got that from reading your comment, good example.
But she is a model of hard work to our kids as she quit her job halfway through as Governor. Her family is a reality show and no talent whatsoever. What a hypocrite!!!!
I agree.
How can she not be aware of the irony of this?!
She knows her sheeps won’t question the irony or hypocrisy of her words
and they keep getting dumber
Who the hell does she think she is anyway??
Sarah Palin with an opionion, gee what news. I await her book, won’t have to buy toilet paper for awhile.
My butt deserves better than that. Only Charmin will do.
Isn’t that what the Mama Grizzly uses on the commercial?
how funny!! like thatChris
toilet paper is cheaper, and they keep getting dumber.
Talk about being boring and stale EW…. It seems every other article is about Palin or Glee, with about the same stale type of comments from readers regarding each article.
Yeah but the problem that really keeps me up at night is feline AIDS. It’s the number one killer of domestic housecats.
Meow Meow Meowwww
Debbie, love it! That caught me so off guard.
I agree!!!
I refudiate her claims!
LOL…
Bahahahaha!
Sarah Palin, you are the poster child for everything you are putting down. You are one of the most undeserving, undereducated, unenlightened, untalented success stories. Another pretty face, that’s all. You do a disservice to American who have worked hard for what they have achieved. And that includes many American Idol contestants. What did/have you done to earn your self appointed self annointed role as speaker for conservative America. I’ve heard intelligent well informed conservatives. You are not one of them. When you point fingers as you have done, you are pointing directly and primarily at yourself.
She thinks people can’t take criticism, and yet refuses to be interviewed by any media besides FOX.
I don’t like the audition shows of American Idol either, but who asked Sarah Palin to boast her 2 cents about it? It’s very insulting to anybody who auditioned on it in the past or anyone who’s currently recording artists now. I wonder what Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie, Chris, Taylor, my girl Jordin, Jennifer, Ruben, Clay, Kris, Adam, David, the other David, and Lee think about her outlandish comments?
She is probably referring to the delusional auditioners, not the many talented winners and finalists. Oh dear, I just defended Sarah Palin!
However, if she is referring to all contestants being lazy and using AI as a short-cut to fame, she is sadly mistaken. In most cases, the best contestants (like Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry, Cook, Adam, Lee, Crystal, and many others) have been performing music in some capacity for years and just never got “discovered” until Idol.
She is not talking about those people, she is talking about somebody like Bristol who wins reality shows and never wins anything again.
Totally agree Nevada01. I am sick to my stomach thinking I am defending her, but you are right.
maybe you don’t like what she is saying because you are, what she is talking about.
I wonder if in light of the fact that her daughter is on Dancing with the Stars, with no-talent, and she herself has a reality show does she want to take that statement back? That woman really is a moron with no wisdom.
Where’s a “hard truth-teller” when Sarah needs one???
They are ALL over the internet, certainly! Although I guess the opinions of all the people outraged by her continued political presence are easily refudiated because these people are obviously either jealous, sexist, or brainwashed by the lamestream liberal media into seeing past the folksy charm to the unqualified ambition. And for serious, her comments combined with Bristol’s super-coddled DWTS run are hilarious.
True.
I *almost* wish I could have a peek at what Sarah Palin looks like through the naive eyes of her supporters. Like some kind of lumberjane superhero PTO mom from next door?
Yep, Bristol is the most coddled contestant in reality show history. She’s the biggest victim of the “cult of self-esteem.”