‘American Idol’s’ Jermaine Jones disqualified from show
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“American Idol” semifinalist Jermaine Jones is getting the boot from the show, and it’s not because America didn’t vote for him.
The 25-year-old vocal instructor from Pine Hill, N.J., tweeted Tuesday night that he would no longer be appearing on the hit singing competition. ‘Awww I will no longer b on the show,’ he wrote on his official ‘Idol’ account. The tweet, as well as the account, were quickly and unsurprisingly deleted.
According to the gossip website TMZ, Jones got the boot after producers discovered that the hopeful had been arrested twice and that he still had a number of outstanding warrants. One of the alleged incidents was reportedly of a violent nature, with Jones allegedly getting into a fight at a New Jersey hotel; according to TMZ, he allegedly gave false names to the police on both accounts.
Criminal history aside, Jones had already courted controversy when his father countered his claim that Jones had been abandoned by him a decade ago. His father said that not only had they maintained regular contact but that he was at an “Idol” taping to support him.
Dubbed the ‘gentle giant’ by ‘Idol’ host Ryan Seacrest because of his towering stature, Jones was among the bottom three contestants last week after performing Stevie Wonder’s ‘Knocks Me Off My Feet,’ but advanced to the top 12. Obviously, the show will find a dramatic way to play out his exit on Wednesday’s live show.
Jones certainly isn’t the first (and we doubt the last) contestant to get the boot because of his or her past. During Season 2, Corey Clark was disqualified for concealing an arrest record, and Frenchie Davis also got dumped from the show due to topless photos on an adult website. Davis is undoubtedly the most famous of the shunned contestants; she went on to Broadway and last year came in second place on Christina Aguilera’s team on “The Voice.” Other contestants have gotten disqualified because they’ve failed to reveal previous recording or management contracts.
A Fox spokeswoman said the network would have no comment.
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-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
