Idol Under Fire
Katharine McPhee, 22, missed the first part of the American Idols Live! tour after releasing a statement saying she’d contracted a case of “severe bronchitis and laryngitis,” and doctors ordered the singer on total voice rest (she joins the tour July 27). Yet, sightings of the star abounded.
Mere days before postponing her tour, McPhee was photographed swimming with actor boyfriend Nick Cokas, 41. She also had to defend her decision to attend a photo shoot on July 6, the day after the tour began without her, saying she was, “trying to utilize this downtime.”
Meanwhile, a source says that McPhee (who said her five-year battle with bulimia was like “putting a sledgehammer to your vocal chords”) was missing the tour because of the eating disorder. “The bronchitis/laryngitis was a lie,” says the source. Her rep says that is “100 percent false.”
Will McPhee’s relationship with a man 19 years her senior damage her wholesome image? For more details on this story, check out the current issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands this week.


























