Bush Baby & Fat Jon: Reality TV's latest idols

The two Seattle wannabe pop stars who were shortchanged by genetics and then ridiculed by American Idol, are embarking on a now-standard journey into that bizarre new realm of post-reality show fame and exploitation.

And while Kenneth Briggs and Jonathan Jayne lift off into the unknown, Fox Television is taking a strong stand against Rosie O'Donnell and others who've claim the Idol judges were meaner than ever to those poor boys and others this time around. "I think it's part of what makes American Idol American Idol," Peter Liguori, Fox entertainment president, told television writers at the summit in Pasadena today. And he added--presumably with a straight face-- that folks have told him the show's been "toned down."

Tuesday and Wednesday's shows, which featured auditions in Minneapolis and Seattle, pulled in about 37 million viewers. Simon Cowell got the heaviest criticism for making fun of the saucer-eyed and stunted Kenneth, and the slow, portly Jonathan.

Simon told Kenneth: ''You look a little odd... you look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle, with those massive eyes. What are they called? A bush baby." And when rotund 20-year-old Jonathan followed, Simon asked him if he'd borrowed Randy Jackson's pants. The New York Times pointed out the next morning that "an online biography from a private school in Seattle where Mr. Jayne graduated in 2004 notes that his hobbies include participating in the Special Olympics." It's also been revealed that Jonathan is autistic to boot--and lost his job as a grocery store for skipping work for the Idol audition! Oops.

But no worries. For Bush Baby & Fat Jon, the fun's just begun.


The morning after his Idol appearance, Jonathan was interviewed on The BJ Shea Morning Experience (home of "Hot topics, hot shots, hot bitches" and the "H-Hole Army") on Seattle's KISW-FM. Jonathan was scheduled to return to sing on the radio Friday morning, but he was hijacked, along with Kenneth, by the producers of Jimmy Kimmel Live for an appearance in LA last night. At the end of the interview, Kimmel invited Kenneth and Jonathan to the Bob Hope Classic celebrity golf tournament (taking place now in Palm Springs) to interview celebrities for him.

That promises another Kimmel appearance next week, which means that Kenneth will probably again be a no-show on the BJ radio show back home, where he's now set to perform Monday morning, and "the Morning Experience staff intends to help him find a new job."

Welcome to show biz, h-holes...