It isn't now nor has ever been strictly a singing contest. It's about creating a pop star which is more about how someone looks than about how they sing. If everyone who watches the show were to close their eyes and just listen and if the judges were to do the same thing, I imagine there would be a very different set of finalists--and of people who make it past the audition for that matter.
This is symptomatic of the industry and not just of the show. Take a look at all of the major rock, pop, r&b, and country stars around today. Try to find ugly ones. For that matter, there are more than a few who look good but sound worse than my dog, Reggie, while he's standing at the back door needing out with a bad case of the trots.
Frankly, IMHO, the people who audition who just plain can't sing, are tone deaf, or whatever, pretty much deserve exactly what they get. It's about time someone stopped lying to them and telling them that they sound good. This is a symptom of all the years of telling them that there are no winners or losers, that 2+2=7 is a great answer to a math problem (because they're trying hard and that's what counts), and all the other feel-good-about-yourself even when you've failed crap that goes on. Sure that stuff is good for self-esteem but it isn't so good for helping people recognize their limitations.
That being said, making fun of someone who is mentally challenged is just plain wrong. Doing it on national television is undoubtedly evil.
Randy was almost as cruel as Simon in the episode I saw. We have to face it, folks..American viewers like this kind of thing..These judges are breaking sacred adult rules about bullying..Who bullies, anyway? Why, it is those who have the power or think they have the power to mistreat and get away with it, or in this case, profit mightily from it. And, who has more power than the producers and players of AMERICAN IDOL? Rosie O'Donald is being criticized for speaking what many of us out here are thinking about American Idol and other things and she is being crucified for it..I am not a Rosie fan but I give credit where credit is due. All this careful stepping around bad behavior and not calling a "spade a spade" just because famous people are the perpetrators is not good for society. It might generate ratings now but in the long run, consequences roll in which are not good. The people who "spearhead" the breaking of more of our values are then filthy rich and others are left to deal with the mess.