In a new tell-all called American Idol Exposed, former staff member Justin Buckles gives fans an intimate look at what goes on behind the scenes… and some may not like what he’s got to say. The staffer confirms some rumors that American Idol watchers have suspected for years.

In an interview with anti-Idol site Vote For the Worst, Buckles talks about his turning point with the show: “On the audition road for Season 5, production assistants were asked to sit at the [audition] tables and act as producers. This really pushed me over the edge and pretty much started the ball rolling for me in regards to wanting to leave the show.” He said “contestants were one hundred percent scammed, in my opinion, during the Season 5 auditions.”

Do tell. “I saw producers escorting contestants straight to the final round of auditions with the judges,” Buckles continued.

And once the auditions were over, the producers continued to be heavy-handed with contestants. “Executive producers…. would sit in and listen to the rehearsals,” he said. “If the contestants were not performing their songs up to the executive producers’ standards they would be forced to pick a new song or they would have a song picked for them.”

But there’s much, much more. The second part of the interview, filled with even more scandalous claims, will debut next week. American Idol Exposed is currently available on Amazon Kindle.