Politics
American Idol’s Luke Bryan calls week ‘very challenging & upsetting’ after Caleb Kennedy leaves show due to KKK hood pic
AMERICAN Idol judge Luke Bryan has broken his silence after Caleb Kennedy left the show following the emergence of a racist video.
The country superstar, 44, has said it has been a “very challenging and upsetting week” in the wake of the racism scandal.
Luke Bryan has spoken out after Caleb Kennedy left American Idol[/caption]
The contestant quit after a racist video featuring him emerged[/caption]
Caleb, 16, quit American Idol last Wednesday after a video surfaced of him sitting with a friend who was wearing a ‘KKK hood‘.
Speaking out for the first time, Luke told People that “first and foremost” he and his fellow judges “love these kids” and get “emotionally involved” with them.
Saying he “wants the best” for Caleb, Luke added: “As far as the nuances on how ABC gets viewed, either way, decisions got made and it’s our job as judges to show up and do our best job and comment on the kids who are in front of us.”
He added: “It does make for a very, very challenging and upsetting week.”
Luke has described this past week as ‘challenging and upsetting’[/caption]
Caleb was sat next to a friend who was wearing a KKK hood in the footage[/caption]
Caleb and his family have faced serious criticism after the video surfaced earlier last week.
The clip, which was once featured on the Top Five’s social media, was reposted by an unknown account on TikTok.
In a statement to the Herald-Journal, the singer’s mother, Anita, said that the video was recorded when Kennedy was just 12, after watching a horror movie.
She shared: “I hate this has happened and how Caleb is being portrayed by people online.
The video was filmed when Caleb was 12[/caption]
It surfaced on TikTok[/caption]
“This video was taken after Caleb had watched the movie The Strangers: Prey at Night and they were imitating those characters.
“It had nothing to do with the Ku Klux Klan, but I know that’s how it looks. Caleb doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. He loves everyone and has friends of all races.”
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, meanwhile, was slammed on Sunday night for skirting around the scandal during the latest episode of the show.
At the opening of the show, the host explained: “Caleb Kennedy won’t be competing so it’s down to the final four.”
Ryan Seacrest was criticised for ‘dismissing it’ on Sunday night[/caption]
Many took to Twitter to shame Ryan for the quick statement, instead of explaining the controversial nature of the video.
“What a huge surprise,” one fan shared, while a second wrote: “Seriously I don’t understand why all these people are just dismissing it and forgiving it when it isn’t their thing to forgive.”
“F**K YOU IDOL FOR RYAN JUST SAYING ‘CALEB ISNT HERE.’ YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID WHY AND YOU DO NOT TOLERATE HATE. BUT. HEY. YOU’RE REDNECK IDOL. SO WHY CHASTISE HATE TOO MUCH. JUST SWEEP IT UNDER THE RUG. FOOLS,” another ranted.
After the video first resurfaced, Caleb issued his own apology to his fans and confirmed he would be leaving American Idol.
Caleb has taken a break from social media[/caption]
The teenager said: “Hey y’all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I am no longer gonna be on American Idol.
“There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”
The singer had made it to the Top Five before his exit[/caption]
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Caleb continued: “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.
“I’m so sorry! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me.”
