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"\"&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/category/american-idol/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;American Idol&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;\" is firing back at &lt;strong&gt;Ian Benardo&lt;/strong&gt;, warning the former contestant to dismiss his lawsuit ASAP, or he'll end up paying the show's enormous legal defense costs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2010/09/23/0923-ian-bernardo-ex-tmz-01-credit.jpg\" alt=\"Ian Bernardo\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we &lt;a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2010/07/27/american-idol-sued-ian-benardo/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;previously reported&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; -- Benardo sued \"Idol\" in federal court in New York last month, claiming \"Idol\" producers \"exploited\" his sexual orientation by asking him to \"gay it up\" on their show.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\"Idol\" lawyers shot back last week with a letter reminding Benardo that he long ago signed an agreement releasing the show from any liability.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The agreement reads, \"I [Benardo] further understand that my appearance, depiction and/or portrayal in the Program may be disparaging, defamatory, embarrassing, or of an otherwise unfavorable nature which may expose me to public ridicule, humiliation or condemnation.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\"Idol\" lawyers also claim Benardo's contract clearly states that if he sues them and loses, he's going to have to pay all their legal fees -- and you can bet \"Idol\" lawyers don't come cheap.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UPDATE:&lt;/strong&gt; Benardo tells TMZ, \"I will see them in court. They want me to be quiet about this and I&amp;#8217;m not going to back down just because they are a major tv show.\"&amp;#160; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\n&lt;!-- relatedlinks --&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2010/09/23/american-idol-lawsuit-ian-bernardo-sexual-harassment/2/>