Update: New details have emerged about finalist Jermaine Jones’ dismissal from American Idol. The Smoking Gun reports that not only does Jones have a criminal past, but he’s got five outstanding arrest warrants spread over three New Jersey counties and they’ve got the paperwork to prove it. The reality show contestant has failed to appear in court for a variety of criminal charges dating back as far as 2006.
His offenses range from carrying an open container to an alleged “violent crime,” but the offenses that really got him in hot water were two separate times in which he gave police a false name in order to avoid being caught for his other outstanding warrants.
This is more than a few past mistakes. It seems this time Idol’s squeaky clean practices are actually for the best.
Earlier: It’s been a while since American Idol saw one of its finalists’ dreams cut short thanks to an unseemly past, but it appears Season 11 Top 13 finalist Jermaine Jones has resurrected the tradition. He tweeted March 13 that he was no longer on the series.
Though his official Idol Twitter account has been removed – a pretty solid confirmation of his disqualification – he managed to send one last message to fans before it went dark: “Awww I will no longer b on the show.” But Jones was already hovering in the bottom two, there’s got to be something big to make Idol speed up the shuffle.
According to TMZ, Jones’ chequered past is to blame. While host Ryan Seacrest calls the deep-toned singer the “Gentle Giant,” his reported past record is anything but. The celeb news site claims Jones concealed past crimes from the producers and that one of his indiscretions involved violence. Idol’s spokespeople have yet to comment on the accusations.
Idol has shown its zero-tolerance policy multiple times in the past, including kicking off Frenchie Davis for past pornographic photos and Corey Clark for his concealed arrest. Yet, every time Idol banishes a contestant for their past indiscretions, it gets fans talking: should these singers be judged for their past mistakes? Or should we accept them as they are today? We all make mistakes, and if anyone understands that its Idol judge Steven Tyler. Why does Idol require contestants to have such spotless records?
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