Caleb Kennedy was a top-five contestant on season 19 of ABC’s “American Idol.” The 16-year-old singer-songwriter pulled himself from the show after a video surfaced of him sitting next to someone in a KKK-style hood surfaced, according to TMZ.. Kennedy later said the video was taken when he was 12 years old.
Following his exit, Kennedy took to social media to apologize to fans.
“Hey y’all, this gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I am no longer gonna be on ‘American Idol,’” he wrote. “There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not to be taken in that way.”
He added, “I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse. I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down. I’ll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me.”
Kennedy Says ‘American Idol’ Was Not What He Wanted
In an interview with GoUpstate, Kennedy talked about his “American Idol” journey and opened up about the pressure he felt.
“You think it’s all going to be fun, and a lot of it is, but it will slap you in the face really quickly,” Kennedy told the outlet. “I wasn’t ready for it.”
He also shared that he felt there is no real way to prepare for going on “American Idol.”
“There’s no way to emotionally prepare for Idol,” he said. “Because no one is ready for it, no matter how you prepare. But I don’t regret it, and I did love it.”
He also said that he changed to be on “American Idol.”
“On Idol, that wasn’t me,” he shared. “That world is so different. Now that I’m home, I try to be me, but I’m also scared of someone videoing me when I go to Academy or Wal-Mart. You have to worry about things like that now.”
Kennedy Performed Locally
Before sitting down to talk to GoUpstate, Kennedy had a concert at the place he performed before he left for Hollywood: Wings Etc. in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. The singer performed on June 11, 2021.
According to GoUpstate, Kennedy had a lot of fans show up at the concert.
“It feels good to be back, but different and little more nerve-wracking with so many more people,” Kennedy told the outlet.
He and his band held a meet and greet before the concert, and some fans were in line hours before opening to meet Kennedy. During the concert, Kennedy also debuted his song “Raised on Dirt,” which was supposed to be debuted during his time on “American Idol.”
According to Yahoo! Entertainment, the “American Idol” judges were asked about Kennedy in a question-and-answer session following the live show that aired after Kennedy’s exit.
“First and foremost, as judges and as a judges’ panel, we love these kids, and we get emotionally involved,” Luke Bryan said. “We wish nothing but the best for Caleb, and it does make for a very, very challenging and upsetting week.”
Lionel Richie also spoke about the exit, saying that he hopes Kennedy will learn from everything that happened.
“We grow up, and we make mistakes, and we look at our lives behind us many, many times and we say, ‘God, what was I thinking about when I did that?’ It’s one of those situations,” he shared.
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