‘American Idol’ Finalist Leaves Show After Misconstrued Viral Video Surfaces

16-year-old “American Idol” finalist Caleb Kennedy will no longer be seen on the show after it was confirmed by a show representative that he will no longer be moving forward with the competition. The development comes not long after videos showing him wearing what appears to be a Ku Klux Klan hood popped up online.

Aside from the confirmation by the unnamed representative of “American Idol,” Kennedy also posted via Instagram that he is exiting the show. He shed more light on the KKK video and said that this was taken when he was still young and may have been misinterpreted.

“There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way. 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,” Kennedy’s IG post read.

With Kennedy no longer in the running, Willie Spence, Grace Kinstler, Chayce Beckham and Casey Bishop will be the only remaining finalists for “American Idol.”

Aside from the IG post explanation of the 16-year-old, his mother also backed his son and explained that Caleb was only 12 when the footage was done and that it was inspired by a movie he had seen, MSN reported.

“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,” Anita Guy stated.

On May 9, Kennedy had rendered his version of “Violet Hill” by Coldplay and an original tune in “Mama Said.” It comes not long after it was revealed that Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas would mentor finalists on the coming Sunday episode. Kennedy’s name was not mentioned.