The reaction to the shocking elimination of expected frontrunner Pia Toscano on “American Idol” Thursday night was fast and passionate. Thanks, of course, to the immediate power of twitter.
A number of key former “Idol” contestants made their views known including Jennifer Hudson, Kimberly Caldwell, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle.
Hudson tweeted twice saying, “I can not believe they just eliminated pia ! ReAlly..????” She then later added, “Long as she walked away with that voice she will be alright !! Just hate to see talent like that go!” J-Hud was also eliminated surprisingly early during “Idol” season 3, but went on to win both an Academy Award and Grammy Award in the years since.
Season two’s Caldwell touched on a theory that Toscano was too pretty to win by tweeting, “Did Pia just get voted off idol?! She’s too hot for people to take her seriously! That’s crap.”
Lewis, who was runner-up to the last female winner on the show, Jordan Sparks, was blunt saying, “Wow. Still blown away by America not voting for PIA! @PToscanoAI10 She will record a dope record and be fine, but come on. This stinks.”
Doolittle had noted exclusively in her performance commentary on HitFix that “Girl can sing her tail off…just looking forward to seeing her let loose and have some fun.” That won’t happen now and Doolittle tweeted Thursday night, “I’m genuinely shocked by the AI results tonight. That’s all.”
Former “Idol” judge Ellen DeGeneres told her followers she was “shocked and sad.” Current judge Jennifer Lopez tweeted to her legion of fans, “I am truly sad. I can’t believe this happened. You have to vote for who you love! We will miss you @ptoscanoAI10!!”
But even some non-“Idol” related celebrities made their feelings known. “Parenthood” star Dax Shepard was outraged first tweeting, “This did not just happen!!! How??? I’m going to do something radical. I love you Pia!” Shepard then follwed that one up with, “This is more egregious than that no-hitter that was ruined by that ump.” And then, “@minkakelly @PToscanoAI10 I’m going to do something drastic. This has put me in an unstable mood.”
Marlon Wayans tried to find the lighter side of the night’s events declaring, “Pia eliminated not fair! Who do the teens [expletive] off to now? Dammit life’s not fair… Well kids, there’s always j-lo”
And lastly, none other than Tom Hanks made his feelings known. The two-time Oscar winner and one of the most respected men in Hollywood tweeted, “Don’t have an IDOL habit, but how could the USA vote Pia off? I may be done for the season! HANX”
Now, that one’s gotta hurt. But showing some class was Toscano herself, who tweeted “I’m truly going to miss my idol family! Thank you @JLo Randy and Steven for believing in me. Love you and love my fans!”
For a recap of last night’s show, click here. For commentary on why this surprising result may have occurred, click here.
Look for continuing “American Idol” coverage on HitFix.