Gasp! Simon Rolls Eyes After Virginia Tech Condolences

C Goodman

"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is catching all kinds of flack today after he rolled his eyes on last night's edition of the FOX show. The offense happened after the abrasive Brit had gotten into a debate with contestant Chris Richardson following his performance of a country song. Simon commented that Chris sounded "nasally." The 23-year-old Virginia native defended himself -- claiming that "nasally" is a style of singing.After several seconds of back and forth with Simon, Chris abruptly ended the debate by sending a shout-out to all those affected by the Virginia Tech shootings. Just as Chris was finishing up his condolences, the director cut back to the judge's table where, gasp, Simon was caught rolling his eyes.

Switchboards at FOX affiliates nationwide immediately lit up -- viewers angry with Simon for making light of the tragedy. When asked backstage about Simon's antics, Chris himself fanned the flames by saying that he was "sad" and hurt by the eye roll. "Idol" producers released a statement today saying, "This is a sad time for everyone, so it is especially disheartening that a quick camera cutaway could have been misinterpreted. We're sorry for any grief caused by this misunderstanding, but Simon was not reacting to Chris at that point. He had turned to speak to Paula and didn't actually hear Chris' final comments. Everyone at 'American Idol' feels compassion for those affected by this tragedy. We opened the show with those thoughts and Simon later expressed sincere condolences on behalf of the judges, recognizing the challenges we all face in dealing with this horrible event."

When I was watching this live last night, I knew immediately someone was going to have some explaining to do today. Only morons could look at the tape in context and conclude Simon was being disrespectful toward the Virginia Tech victims. As a former director myself, I know how you sometimes catch things on camera that you wish you could take back. In that seat, you have a lot of power -- either to make your subject look very good or very bad. If the fault lies with anyone on this latest "Idol" controversy, it should rest with the person pushing the buttons in the director's booth. It was an unfortunate mistake that didn't have to happen.