Papa Don't Preach

Apparently the American Idol set has been plagued by the latest crazy parent. This time, it's getting ugly. Rumor has it, David Archuleta's dad will be banned from the set. He seems to be quite a handful:

In the case of David Archuleta, the singer's father, Jeff Archuleta, has a much lower profile, being only occasionally and briefly glimpsed in the Idol studio audience. But in the headlines, Jeff Archuleta has become as much a figure as his frontrunner son, with reports of the elder Archuleta upbraiding his 17-year-old until the boy was in tears. The "stage father from hell" angle spiked again this week when Cowell critiqued David Archuleta's performance of "You're the Voice" by telling the teen he'd be "shocked if you picked that song yourself." TMZ.com chimed in with a report that Cowell's remark was a swipe at Jeff Archuleta. [e!]

Entertainment Tonight is reporting that Archuleta's less-than-perfect performance of "We Can Work It Out"...may have been the result of an argument with his father on Monday. Purportedly unimpressed with the subpar quality of his son's singing, Jeff Archuleta "yelled at David during a recording session … and even brought him to tears." According to blog L.A. Rag Mag, this isn't the first time Jeff's lost his temper. Citing a "reliable source," they say he harassed several other contestants when David was competing on Star Search in 2003, and was eventually banned from the set after making intimidating phone calls to some poor 12-year-old girl (she eventually beat David on the show). [ny mag]

Let's hope he does get banned...for good. Big bully.