"American Idol" hopeful Matt Farmer had quite the story when he auditioned for Season 12 of the Fox reality series in Long Beach, CA.
When he appeared in the Jan. 30 episode, Farmer told Ryan Seacrest that he was serving overseas in Iraq and he was injured when an IED exploded. "I just remember waking up in the hospital in Kuwait," he explained. "I was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury." Farmer added that he was instructed that the medication he was taking would make him sterile, but six months later, he found out he'd be the father of now-three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Cadence, who joined him for the audition.
But just days after Farmer's "American Idol" episode aired, Farmer admitted that his story was fabricated on GuardianOfValor.com after multiple testimonials claimed he was falsely representing himself.
"Everything you have read is correct. It was ALL lies. I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it ... I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national tv show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain ... Is rediculous [sic]. Hindsight is always 20/20 ... To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY ... I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED"
The judges seemed to have little to no inkling that Farmer's story was fabricated. Mariah Carey said Farmer's performance of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" was "heartfelt." According to TV Guide, Farmer is no longer in the competition.
Watch his audition below.
"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on Fox.
