US networks lock horns over American Idol report

It is not perfect happiness in the Land of American Idol. ‘‘Paula Abdul will not dignify the false statements made by Corey Clark with a response,’’ her rep said in a statement to ‘‘Access Hollywood.’’ ‘‘He is communicating lies about Paula Abdul in order to generate interest in a book deal.’’

Clark has been shopping around a tell-all book proposal, in the course of which he has claimed he had an affair with Abdul while a contestant on the second edition of the show, according to a report that surfaced first in the tabloid the Globe. He claims she coached him as to what to sing, wear, etc. and promised to launch his career whether he won or not.

Clark is the guy who was axed early in the competition after word got out that he’d been arrested for allegedly assaulting his teen-age sister and resisting arrest. Idol executive producer Ken Warwick went on Fox News Channel Wednesday night to do damage control.

‘‘We’ve had accusations thrown at us since Day 1—everything from being racist to being fattist to … having the phone lines fixed,’’ Warwick said. ‘‘Why would you want to endanger the success of the show by manipulating it? You only have to get caught once and the whole show becomes worthless,’’ he said.

—Washington Post/Lat-WP