Canadian Idol host Ben Mulroney bids bye-bye to Christine Hanlon, Maud Coussa-Jandl, Derek Hoffman and Justyn Wesley.

In reality TV, there are winners and there are losers. On Canadian Idol this week, Toronto was definitely the biggest loser.

Half of the city’s six competitors were eliminated Wednesday when Christine Hanlon, 21, Derek Hoffman, 17, and Justyn Wesley, 22, were sent packing — along with Quebec’s Maud Coussa-Jandl, 25.

With at least 2.5 million possible supporters in Toronto, the results were odd. Even more surprising, however, was Idol’s reaction.

On Thursday, executive producer John Brunton released a statement calling the eliminations “disgraceful.”

“Each year, Canadian Idol judges select more people from Toronto to be in the Top 22 than any other city. But no competitor from Toronto has made it to the Top 10 since Season 1, four years ago, and that’s pathetic,” Brunton said.

“I’m not really 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 the bright, young singers from Toronto. They deserve more. It should not be a disadvantage to be a Canadian Idol competitor from Toronto.”

While one can understand Brunton’s frustration, it should be noted all the Toronto Idol wannabes kicked off the show this week did not perform well.

Judge Zack Werner told Hoffman, “You sang that really badly.” Wesley was compared to a cheesy wedding singer. Hanlon’s performance was described as “out to lunch.”

Seeing how Idol is a singing contest, viewers actually got it right, and they should be applauded for using their ears instead of a map.