American Idol’s Caleb Kennedy, 16, breaks silence weeks after he was fired from singing show for past ‘racist’ video

AMERICAN Idol’s Caleb Kennedy has broken his silence three weeks after he was fired from the show for a ‘racist’ video.

The 16-year-old revealed how he’d been affected by his shock departure from the singing competition.

AP

Caleb Kennedy has spoken about his time on American Idol[/caption]

Caleb’s premature exit came after a video emerged of him posing with a friend in a Ku Klux Klan-style white hood.

While his mother Anita Guy explained the footage was from when her son was 12-years-old, the singer told his social media followers that the video “displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”

Now, three weeks later, the former fan favourite admits he was unprepared for life in the limelight.

On appearing on American Idol, he told Spartanburg Herald Journal: “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. I wasn’t ready for it.”

Social Media - Refer to Source

The teen was seen in a video next to someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style white hood[/caption]

Social Media - Refer to Source

The video emerged last month on social media[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

Caleb later announced he was leaving the show[/caption]

Caleb added: “There’s no way to emotionally prepare for Idol. Because no one is ready for it, no matter how you prepare.

“But I don’t regret it, and I did love it.”

The teen went on to say how he’d been changed by the experience.

“On Idol, that wasn’t me,” he revealed. “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.

Getty

The singer was down to the final five in the competition[/caption]

Instagram

Caleb with his family, plus his mother Anita who said he was 12 when the video was filmed[/caption]

“You have to worry about things like that now.”

Caleb was down to the final five in the popular show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, before his exit last month.

He wrote in a lengthy apology on Instagram: “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.”

ABC

Ryan Seacrest host the popular TV show[/caption]

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He 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.”

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