Though criticism is usually the job of his judges, Canadian Idol executive producer John Brunton had harsh words for the people of Toronto on Thursday, complaining bitterly that talented singers from the city are being unfairly ignored by the local press and Idol voters.

‘I’m really not supposed to do this. I’m supposed to be impartial. But as a born and bred Torontonian, I’m fed up with the lack of attention and respect paid to bright, young singers from Toronto,’ said Brunton in a statement released on Thursday. ‘No competitor from Toronto has made it into the top ten since season one, four years ago, and that’s pathetic.’

The remarks were prompted by Wednesday night’s show — which saw three would-be idols voted off, cutting Toronto’s presence on the show by half — but Brunton says his frustration predates the CTV series.

‘It’s been 20 years in coming, I guess,’ he tells Playback Daily, nodding to his lengthy resume. ‘The media is more interested in people in L.A. and New York that than our hometown heroes…We chew up and spit out our own in this city.’

He says people in smaller cities and towns do more to cheer on their own, often propelling them to the winner’s circle. He wishes Toronto — which ‘watches like crazy, the ratings are good’ — would get behind its Idol contenders the same way it embraces Pride Week or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The fifth season of Idol debuted June 5, it’s ratings down slightly from last year. Brunton brushes aside the suggestion that his remarks could be taken as a play for publicity. ‘It’s just a statement of a guy who grew up in Toronto.’