Jermaine Jones felt blindsided getting axed Wednesday from American Idol. The 6’8″ “Gentle Giant” was disqualified from competition based on recent findings about his criminal past but the singer told HLN’s Showbiz Tonight that he did not think he’d be let go.
When Jones was called to meet with Idol producers, he thought they were simply bringing his past arrests to his attention. Jones continued, “Letting me know that now they are aware of, you know, this, that and the third… Until they said it, I had no clue what was going to happen… I was shocked, but I can’t really express what my emotions were at that time.”
Jones would not comment on whether or not Idol is “exploiting” his situation since it aired the private meeting with the executives on Wednesday’s performance episode. But he did say, “I know that when I filled out my application, I circled ‘yes’ that I was previously arrested before.” Jones said he had listed a couple of “small infractions.” He added, “And, you know, they did a background check on me and there were some information that I had to get a lawyer to take care of before I could even be on the show.”
Jones doesn’t think there are any warrants out there for his arrest and that he’s “learned a lot” from the “humbling” experience.
“I’m doing great and I’m ready to get back into my music full force, and I’m grateful for everybody who’s supporting me and loving me, it’s just amazing.”
Watch Jermaine’s interview with Showbiz Tonight below: