Top-5 'American Idol' contestant leaves after racially insensitive photo resurfaces online
American Idol narrowed its Season 19 field down to five last Sunday night (May 9), but the competition was unexpectedly cut again to just four Thursday morning.
Caleb Kennedy, a 16-year-old from South Carolina, posted to Instagram that he will "no longer be on American Idol" after an old video resurfaced online that showed him sitting next to someone wearing a hood that very closely resembled the Ku Klux Klan's signature look:
"There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way," Kennedy's statement reads, in part. "I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that's not an excuse."
Kennedy also recognized that he has "hurt and disappointed a lot of people," for which he is "so sorry," and his family confirmed to the Herald-Journal that Kennedy was 12 years old at the time the video was recorded.
His mother, Anita Guy, provided a statement to the publication: "I hate this has happened and how Caleb is being portrayed by people online. 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."
The remaining contestants on American Idol are Chayce Beckham, Casey Bishop, Grace Kinstler and Willie Spence. Kennedy is not the first contestant to abruptly exit, as then-fan-favorite Wyatt Pike unceremoniously left last month.
The American Idol semifinal episode will air Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. More information is below.
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