American Idol star exits show after KKK-themed video emerges

An American Idol contestant has left the talent show after footage emerged online of him sitting next to someone wearing a white hood. Caleb Kennedy, 16, made it to the final five in the show before ABC confirmed that the country music singer had left the show. In a statement posted to Twitter, Kennedy said the video, which has drawn comparisons to the Ku Klux Klan, “displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way”. He wrote: “I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s no excuse.”