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Phillip Phillips Hit With $6 Million Lawsuit From ‘American Idol’ Producers

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 05:31 PST, Jun 3, 2016

Phillip Phillips is in hot water with 19 Entertainment, the former producer of American Idol. The Idol Season 11 winner has been slapped with a $6 million lawsuit for allegedly holding as much as $1 million in management fees that are due to 19 Entertainment, and for breaching multiple deals, according to Entertainment Tonight. The suit comes in response to Phillip Phillips’ bombshell lawsuit filing last year, after which he allegedly ceased payment to 19 Entertainment while still in a valid contract with the company.

Last year, Phillips first filed suit against 19 Entertainment to get out of what he called an “oppressive” contract. In the January 2015 complaint, Phillip Phillips stated that 19 Entertainment had “manipulated” him into entering into transactions that benefited the company and its affiliates and not him. Phillip claimed he was forced to perform a show for free for an Idol sponsor (JetBlue) and that he wasn’t even privy to the title of his Behind the Light album until it was announced to the public. Phillip Phillips filed the 2015 lawsuit in an attempt to void his management, recording, and merchandising agreements with the company.

At the time, Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter that while he was grateful for the opportunities he was given after his winning run on American Idol, he felt he had been taken advantage of after he was crowned the 2012 champion.

“I am very grateful for the opportunities provided to me through appearing on American Idol,” Phillip told THR last year. “The value that the fans and the show have given to my career is not lost on me. However, I have not felt that I have been free to conduct my career in a way that I am comfortable with. I look forward to being able to make my own choices about my career and to being able to make great music and play it for my fans.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/y2iV4wQ-Aa/?taken-by=phillphill&hl=en

Phillips’ 19 Entertainment managers lined up performances for him at the NBA All-Star Game and a World Series game, as well as daytime TV appearances on The Today show, Ellen, and The View. While the gigs provided Phillip with extra exposure, the “Home” singer took issue with a producer the company hooked him up with for his first two albums, whom he claimed compromised his interests. Phillips also said 19 flat-out lied to him about royalty rates and withheld important information about his career.

In hindsight, it’s not hard to see that Phillip Phillips never felt comfortable with the “hold” American Idol had on his career. In a 2014 interview with AZ Central, Phillips admitted he wasn’t even initially comfortable with his Idol coronation song, “Home.”

“When [Idol mentor] Jimmy Iovine brought it to me, I was like, ‘Well, it’s very folk.'” Phillips said. “You know, I’ve got a little folk but not quite so much. And it was hard for me to really adapt to that song because I had no input on it. So it was a little bit difficult for me.”

Phillips also described the show as a “great stepping stone,” but added that it was still up to him as an artist to step things up.

“Idol was a great experience,” Phillip said. “It was a great stepping-stone. I got to meet a lot of amazing people through that and learn a lot of great things. But afterward — that’s what I tell a lot of people — it’s up to you to represent it as an artist.”

19 Entertainment filed for bankruptcy in April, just two weeks after Phillip Phillips made an appearance on the series finale of American Idol.

Take a look at the video below to see Phillip Phillips performing a David Bowie tribute with fellow American Idol winners on the series finale of the Fox singing competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzNu26Z3JrY

[Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Invictus Games]

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