Maxim is a men’s magazine that’s known for its sexy images of sexy ladies. The publication made headlines on Tuesday for naming Sanjaya Malakar as their girl of the day on their official website. As they say, “We stopped watching after the auditions (the only digestible part of the show), but it's our understanding that we have Sanjina to thank for the "ponyhawk," a hair-novation destined to tickle your underarm as you noogie hordes of copycat hipsters.”

They then feature a plethora of Sanjaya images with different Sanjaya-ified hair styles including the infamous ponyhawk.

Y’all know I’m not a fan of Mr. Malakar. Well, not as a singer. I think Sanjaya has, to quote Jesse McCartney, “a beautiful soul.” He’s sweet yet obnoxious and he’s savvy. He knows he’s being made fun of and is trying to have some fun with the sensation. Can we really blame the boy for riding the wave of popularity that has come his way?

No.

We, only have ourselves to blame. The judges put him through to the Top 24, but we have continued to vote him through. We have written about him and devoted time to him so the American Idol producers have put Sanjaya in our faces even more. We are making a mockery of a 17-year-old boy’s life and future career.

That’s sad. Have we really sunk so low as a society as this? Sanjaya is not the world’s greatest singer, but American Idol is not the judge and jury of all things fantastic, musically speaking. It’s a TV show albeit an enjoyable one (at times), but we’ve given it way too much power over our lives.

Maybe Sanjaya could teach us how to have a good sense of humor and how to handle life’s knocks with some class, grace and a winning smile even if we do things in our life less than perfectly. Maybe we can vote him off and put Melinda Doolittle through as the winner, but…in the end, who’s going to have the better career? It might be Sanjaya.

Hopefully, it’s a genuine career and not one like William Hung’s. We made fun of that poor gentlemen for months. Let’s let Sanjaya – and American Idol – be what it’s supposed to be … entertainment, and leave the rest alone.

I’ll try not to comment on anything but Sanjaya’s singing from here on out. I know it’ll be tough, but I think it’s fair. I’m tired of the way we bully Mr. Malakar. He doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

You don’t have to vote for him. You don’t have to like him. You don’t even have to watch American Idol. Make your own choices. Don’t let Howard Stern or votefortheworst or a blogger (like me) or Simon Cowell tell you who to choose. If you’re gonna vote on American Idol, vote for who you think is good enough to remain there, who you think has a shot at a long-standing music career.

And let the rest go.