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Fantasia Speaks out about Paula Abdul

By Cindy Locke May 13, 2005, 20:51 GMT

Fantasia Barrino was American Idol’s winner last year and is speaking out about Corey Clark’s allegations of having an affair with Paula Abdul.

Although Barrino and Clark were on different seasons of Idol, Barrino says there was really no way Clark or anyone could sneak out of the house the finalists live in during the season. 

“Let me tell you this: That house was like a prison, but a good prison,” said Barrino. “They have somebody who sits and watches and they had security guards working in shifts. There's no way you can sneak out because there's a gate around the house. We had a curfew. We could leave the house if we weren't working, but we had to be back at certain time ... or you'd get in big trouble the next day.”

Barrino says contact was limited to “maybe sometimes, after the show, they would hug us or say something to us.  Paula Abdul is a sweet, sweet lady. She carries herself with a whole lot of class. And she likes for us to look at her as a classy, respectable lady. ... She treated all of the Idol contestants the same way.”