American Idol: Runner-up Megan Danielle opens up on the show being ‘rigged’

Is reality television rigged?

Well, we know it’s not scripted, but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t edited or designed to end a certain way.

Competition reality is facing a lot of backlash for being rigged lately, and American Idol is no exception to the rule.

Although many loved this season’s winner, Iam Tongi, others weren’t so convinced that he was deserving of the win.

Runner-up Megan Danielle is a talented favorite and so is third-place contestant, Colin Stough.

When it comes to the show being rigged, Megan Danielle isn’t so sure about that factor, and she believes that Iam deserved the win.

Megan Danielle opens up on American Idol being ‘rigged’

Megan, 21, spoke with the New York Post regarding claims that Idol was rigged for Iam to win.

“I feel like Iam is so deserving, and he’s so humble, and, I don’t know, I feel like any of us really deserved it,” she revealed. “I would say that it isn’t [rigged] just because, you know, I feel like God made all of this happen for a reason, even if I was first, second, last, whatever.”

“I feel like Iam was deserving and he’s so humble and so talented,” Megan continued. “And this was his time and I’m just super proud of him.”

As far as Megan is concerned, the game wasn’t rigged and Iam is a valid winner who deserved to take home the first-place trophy.

Both Megan and Iam have faced difficulties in the past few years, so the empathy between the two makes perfect sense.

Megan Danielle opens up about personal hardship on American Idol

Some reportedly believe that Iam was given the top spot as winner because he recently lost his father, and many believe that sympathy votes must have earned him the win.

However, Iam isn’t the only one who experienced loss in recent years.

Megan revealed on the show that her father left her family when she was a child, and then her grandfather died last year.

She referred to her grandfather as “the most important person” in her life, and that much was evident on the show.

While singing Journey’s Faithfully, she cried after seeing a photo of her grandfather on the screen, though her tears were edited out of the final cut.

Both contestants experienced loss, and as far as we can tell, neither beat the other simply over sympathy votes. While all three finalists were greatly talented, it was clear that Iam was a fan favorite.

American Idol is currently on hiatus.