BREAKING: Antonella Barba Is Different From Frenchie Davis

American Idol Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe told ew.com that Idol would not take any action against [Catholic University coed] Antonella Barba as a result of the racy pix of her that have shown up online.

Best laugher in the report:

"Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe says he has not seen any of the Internet pictures, and only learned of the sexually explicit shots from EW."

[Har, har, har! Stop it Nigel -- you're killing me!!!]

Asked to explain the difference between the Barba controversy and the racy photos that got Frenchie Davis kicked off AI2, Lythgoe replied: "Well, ya see, Antonella is a thin, hot, white girl. Idol viewers *wanted* to see these pictures..."

[Nigel Lythgoe did not say that. We made that up -- Ed.]

[We have deliberately not linked to any sites that have these very-NSFW pix. If you care to see them, try googling "antonella barba photos" and scan through the first few results -- Ed.]