Earlier today we learned that American Idol contestant Jermaine Jones had been disqualified from the Fox singing competition over something to do with a criminal history he didn’t disclose to the producers. The matter was addressed on tonight’s performance episode, as we were shown the producers discussion with Jones, and the singer’s rehearsal performance.
Whether it was to give him a proper send-off, to show "their side" of the situation or present this as a cautionary tale to future Idol hopefuls (or all of the above), Idol aired the conversation between Jones and the producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, during which they made it clear that a big part of the issue was the fact that Jones did not tell them up front of his criminal history. During the packaged video segment that aired during tonight’s episode, Warwick said:
“We’re not judgmental at all. Lots of kids come to us with problems. It’s part and parcel of what kids go through today. We know that. If they come clean with us and tell us from the beginning, we can help them. But, you did know that you were incumbent to tell us the truth about all of this, and it appears that you just haven’t on any level.”
Jones explained some of the circumstances involving his arrest, and talked about why he didn’t disclose the information to the show, saying, “I just was scared and nervous. I didn’t want to get judged. I didn’t want to get penalized for anything that happened in the past.”
While it seems his omission of this information is what Idol producers focused on when they explained to him that they had to disqualify him from the competition, Lythgoe did state that they were not allowed to have contestants on the show with outstanding warrants. Jones has four.
?The segment ended with footage from the singer’s rehearsal, wherein he sang “Somewhere Out There.” And with that, this ends Jones’ run in the competition, but perhaps not his career as a singer. He did get some exposure, which is a step forward. Hopefully, he’ll get his legal issues sorted out and continue to pursue singing.
