Former “American Idol” contestant Antonella Barba is facing another legal issue after authorities accused her of shoplifting at a Target store in New Jersey.
Barba, 39, of East Orange, was charged with stealing merchandise valued at under $200 from the Target at Seaview Square Shopping Center in Ocean Township on Aug. 10, police said, according to NJ.com.
Officers were called to the store around 3:19 p.m. after Barba allegedly placed items into a bag while moving between a fitting room and a restroom, police said.
After leaving the bathroom, Barba allegedly walked straight out of the store. Police approached her outside and said they found stolen merchandise inside the bag she was carrying.
Barba has pleaded not guilty and is due back in Ocean Township Municipal Court on Nov. 18.
The charge adds to a series of past legal problems for the former reality TV singer, including a 2010 shoplifting arrest, 2018 federal fentanyl charges and a 2025 domestic violence arrest.
A native of Point Pleasant, Barba became nationally known in 2007 after reaching the top 16 on the sixth season of “American Idol,” the year “Battlefield” singer Jordin Sparks won the competition.
In December 2010, Barba was arrested in Manhattan for allegedly stealing $18.81 worth of gloves from an Urban Outfitters on Broadway, The Post reported at the time.
She was charged with two misdemeanors and sentenced to one day of community service.
Barba’s legal troubles escalated in October 2018, when federal authorities charged her with drug trafficking.
She pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and was sentenced to 45 months in prison in November 2019.
Police had arrested Barba in Norfolk, Va., after finding drugs hidden in a shoebox inside a rental car, and US Customs and Border Protection officials determined she was carrying more than 830 grams of fentanyl, nearly two pounds.
Barba served the sentence from 2019 to 2021 and was then placed on five years of supervised release.
Then, in March 2025, Barba was arrested on a domestic violence charge involving her former partner.
The arrest violated her federal probation from the drug case and led to a warrant for her arrest in New Jersey, according to TMZ.
She was released on home detention and ordered to have no contact with her ex-partner.
After “American Idol,” Barba competed on “Fear Factor” in 2012 and played a minor role in the 2017 film “All About the Money” before appearing in a “Where Are They Now?” “Idol” skit on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in 2018.
