--- title: 'American Idol' Season 11 Winner Phillip Phillips Files Complaint description: Phillip Phillips says his management contract with Idol co-producer 19 Entertainment violated California's Talent Agencies Act. canonical: https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-27T09:14:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:53:51.175Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'American Idol' Phillip Phillips Files Suit og:description: The season 11 winner says he had to perform for free and was left out of important decisions og:url: https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14a4dc2c74a17cd0/69877c0bcd1bbaeeba6f4df1/453719224.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Fair At The PNE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'American Idol' Phillip Phillips Files Suit twitter:description: The season 11 winner says he had to perform for free and was left out of important decisions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14a4dc2c74a17cd0/69877c0bcd1bbaeeba6f4df1/453719224.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _American Idol_ Winner Phillip Phillips Takes Legal Action Over Contract by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jan 27, 2015 9:14 AM UTC  Phillip Phillips performs on stage at PNE Amphitheatre during Day 1 of The Fair At The PNE on August 16, 2014 in Vancouver, Canada. Phillip Phillips performs on stage at PNE Amphitheatre during Day 1 of The Fair At The PNE on August 16, 2014 in Vancouver, Canada.Andrew Chin—Getty Images by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Jan 27, 2015 9:14 AM UTC Phillip Phillips, the winner of _American Idol_ season 11, has lodged a [complaint](http://deadline.com/2015/01/phillip-phillips-files-complaint-american-idol-producer-19-entertainment-1201359817/) with the California Labor Commissioner claiming that the show’s co-producers, 19 Entertainment, have “manipulated” him. He alleges his management contract with 19 violated the state’s Talent Agencies Act, Deadline reports. In the [filing](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/petitiontodeterminecontroversy2015-01-22-wm.pdf), Phillips says the company manipulated him into accepting jobs that were for the benefit of 19 and its affiliates. He said he had to perform “without compensation in a live show promoting the company JetBlue on Feb., 18, 2013.” The _Gone, Gone, Gone_ singer also alleges that 19 repeatedly withheld important career information from him, claiming that the title of his latest album was decided without his input and was announced to the press without him knowing about it. 19 Entertainment denies the allegations. \[[Deadline](http://deadline.com/2015/01/phillip-phillips-files-complaint-american-idol-producer-19-entertainment-1201359817/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/"},"headline":"American Idol Winner Phillip Phillips Takes Legal Action Over Contract","datePublished":"2015-01-27T09:14:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:53:51.175Z","description":"He alleges he was made to perform for free and left out of important decisions","url":"https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/","keywords":["Music","American Idol"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14a4dc2c74a17cd0/69877c0bcd1bbaeeba6f4df1/453719224.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14a4dc2c74a17cd0/69877c0bcd1bbaeeba6f4df1/453719224.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Fair At The PNE","caption":"The Fair At The PNE","creditText":"Andrew Chin—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3683592/american-idol-winner-phillip-phillips-manipulated/","name":"American Idol Winner Phillip Phillips Takes Legal Action Over Contract"}}]}] ```