In 2003, Frenchie Davis was booted from Idol's Season 2 when producers discovered she had worked for a porn website.

Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe says he has not seen any of the Internet pictures, and only learned of the sexually explicit shots reports EW. ''We have really good background checks on everybody, and we deal with that every season,'' he says.

''It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the web?''

Antonella Barba's, best friend Amanda Coluccio, who auditioned with Barba and was cut during Hollywood week, tells PEOPLE in its new issue that Barba will "represent New Jersey in a classy way."

Alex Gillespie, a Fox publicist in New York for the top-rated show, said the network would have no comment on the incident or whether it might affect Barba's participation in the contest.

Gillespie said the network is not making any of the contestants available to speak to the media.