‘American Idol’ notes: Matt Farmer controversy; an Adam Lambert performance

We’re going to begin this “American Idol” notes tonight with a pretty serious topic, so if you want to skip over it and check out a fun performance from Adam Lambert below, feel free to do so.

Now, we’re going to talk a little bit about Matt Farmer, who continues a terrible tradition now of reality shows conditioning people to think that they only way they will succeed is with some sort of terrible sob story. Farmer’s narrative (which was a part of Wednesday’s show in Long Beach) was that he was was severely injured by an IED while serving in the military overseas, and he came back with a brain injury that was supposed to make him sterile. That didn’t happen, and he ended up being a father to a baby girl.

The problem with all of this? Most of it is a lie. As you can see in the extremely well-documented Guardian of Valor website, Farmer only served briefly in Iraq, never was injured, and was sent home after drinking alcohol while taking the extremely-powerful drug Accutane (known mostly for acne treatment).

Farmer ultimately released the statement below (this is just an excerpt  to the website admitting to his lies, and apologizing to those he may have hurt:

“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 coming out and making a statement (even though I was instructed not to) because i DO want to come clean. Just so everyone knows I’m not reviving any sort of disability for Tbi. Let it also be known that I left country 2.5 months before the rest of the unit came home, I stayed in the army PAST my ETS date and was released from full service (whether active or reserve) in 2009. 

“I do in fact take FULL responsibility for the actions and words I have said, and know that this will never go away. In NO way was I looking to take from everyone who has served. I started to believe my own lies. And after I believed them… I would catch myself talking like it had happened to me my entire life.”

We don’t want to get on a soapbox on this for several paragraphs, but the following should sum up our emotions on this matter: if anyone wonders why we are often cynical about contestants with sad stories, this is why. If one person spits in the bowl, then no one wants to drink the punch. At this point, these shows should just steer clear of stories that take away from the singing, and make us wonder whether someone is telling the truth.

Now, the fun part – As you may have heard already, Adam Lambert was presented this week with the Unity Award from the We Are Family Foundation, an organization that he supported extensively during his 31st birthday celebration. The event was held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, and this yielded the perfect opportunity for him to rick out with a performance of “Shady” along with the two artists that he collaborated with in Nile Rodgers and Sam Sparro.

If you want to see some more highlights from “American Idol” this season, be sure to head on over to the link here.

Photo: Fox