February 28, 2006 7:40 AM
American Idol P.S.
Remember I said there is a preponderance of Christians in the finalists? Here's something that happened a couple weeks ago which may surprise Christians who've judged American Idol out of hand.
When an exceptionally large black woman named Mandisa gave a powerful audition and was invited to go to Hollywood, as she left the room Simon Cowell remarked, "Do we have a bigger stage?" Simon can be cruel, but he is ruthlessly honest and most of the time ruthless honesty is best for an aspiring artist/singer/writer. If you can't make it past that, then you just don't have what it takes (a little editorial opinion from a writer who's been helped enormously by ruthlessly honest editors).
At the end of the Hollywood ordeal, Mandisa appeared before the three judges to learn her fate - whether she had made the cut for finalists or not.
As she sat down, she mentioned that they hadn't gotten a bigger chair and smiled. Then she looked straight at Simon and said something to the effect of having received a lot of suggestions of cutting things to say to Cowell to get revenge for his rude remark. Then:
"What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was. But I want you to know that I've forgiven you and that you don't need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody," she said. "I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you."
She said this not in an arch self-righteous way, but so sincerely and with such love that Cowell was moved to rise from his seat behind a table to come around and hug her, saying, "Mandisa, I'm humbled, really. I'm just so appalling, aren't I?"
Amazingly, this made it through the very heavy editing process.
Mandisa's faith is not an exception among the finalists. And you can read more about her here.
And by the way, she made it through to the finalists.
Posted in Culture, Music | Permalink
Comments
Thanks for sharing this. I was so thrilled to watch that happen on such a popular show. I did notice, however, that in a recap on a later show, the part about Christ was cut out. Nonetheless, it aired originally, and I was thrilled to see a balanced, kind Christian giving a voice to grace and forgiveness.
Posted by: Carrie | February 28, 2006 1:53 PM
Thank you for speaking with clarity and grace on this issue.
Posted by: Kim | February 28, 2006 10:07 PM
Thanks for sharing this! I haven't watched AI much - if at all - but only because I just don't make time for T.V. ...But I'm thrilled to hear about this. I shared your post with my hubby, and we both felt it was encouraging and exceptional. Thank you.
Posted by: Bonnie | March 2, 2006 12:28 AM
