It can't be easy to be an "American Idol" finalist. Attention from the legitimate media is hard enough to accept; gossip on the Internet rises to an entirely different level.

More accurately, gossip on the Internet falls to an entirely different level.

And the attention doesn't end even after you've left the show. Our own Carmen Rasmusen has been the subject of ridiculous and inaccurate Internet chatter as the result of the column she wrote last week for the Deseret News.

"'Idol' Reject Claims, The Show's Rigged!" screams a headline on TMZ.com. The story — accompanied by the most unflattering picture of Rasmusen the folks at TMZ could find — goes on to say that some "American Idol" contestants "aren't even given a fighting chance."

It's great gossip. Attention-grabbing. Juicy.

And the fact that Rasmusen wrote absolutely nothing of that sort didn't stop TMZ from printing the story.

Rasmusen's April 18 column gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how "Idol" works. She wrote of one experience waiting to consult the show's vocal coach while Clay Aiken was being coached.

"I could hear him going over and over his song, dissecting it. Finally, after about 30 minutes, the door opened. It was my turn. I walked in and sang my song about three times before being dismissed. Hardly the personal one-on-one attention Aiken had just received."

TMZ managed to twist this around into "the show's rigged!"

Beyond distorting the facts — or just making things up — came the accusation that Rasmusen is harboring some sort of grudge, that she's bitter about not winning the second season of "American Idol."

That, as TMZ so nicely phrased it, "She went home in sixth place, to lead a life of obscurity and bitterness."

Again, Rasmusen wrote nothing of the sort. Again, never let the truth get in the way of good gossip.

"The only point I was trying to make was that some contestants get more attention than others," said Rasmusen, who — surprise! — was not contacted by TMZ about its story. "I chose that example because Clay is so well-known.

"The contestants (that 'Idol' producers) know have a chance to win get more attention. Clay was an awesome contestant. They knew he was going to go farther than me."

This is exactly what we're paying her to do — tell us what happens at "American Idol." Things that only a finalist could have seen.

Rasmusen's Deseret News column was apparently linked to a Clay Aiken fan site, and those fans have posted comments that TMZ mimicked in its story — that she's a bitter woman with a grudge against Aiken. What would make this funny if it weren't so sad is that Rasmusen and Aiken became the best of friends when they were on "American Idol" and remain close to this day.