Battery Charge For Idol Contestant

The "American Idol" contestant who claims to have had an affair with judge Paula Abdul was cited on a misdemeanor battery charge after allegedly getting into a food fight with his record company manager.

Corey Clark, 24, was ordered to appear in Sacramento County Superior Court on July 22 after police were called to Sacramento's Sheraton Grand Hotel on Saturday morning by guests, Sacramento police spokesman Justin Risley said.

Clark and the CDC Records executive, Laura Kathleen Troy, were having breakfast in one of the two rooms they rented when they began arguing over an incident from Clark's Friday night concert in West Sacramento, Risley said.

"It ended up as a food fight, throwing dishes. The injuries were relatively minor," Risley said. "I think it was mutual, a back-and-forth kind of thing."

Police found both Clark and Troy with scratches on their arms and cited Clark for misdemeanor battery. Troy, 34, did not want charges filed, Risley said.

Clark's representative, Jed Wallace, did not return a telephone message Monday from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Risley said it's standard police policy to cite and release those charged with misdemeanor battery.

Clark has said he had an affair with Abdul and that she coached him on how to do better during the 2003 "American Idol" competition, a claim Abdul denies. Clark was dismissed from the Fox network show for not disclosing that he had a 2002 misdemeanor arrest alleging he assaulted his younger sister in Kansas.

By Don Thompson