Jermaine Jones Talks: "I Was Shocked"

It looks like we weren't the only ones surprised to see Jermaine Jones get the boot from American Idol for something totally unrelated to his singing ability.
The "Gentle Giant" was a guest on Showbiz Tonight where he gave his first interview after the dismissal, and shared that he had no idea what was going on when he met with show producers.

Jermaine Jones was called the gentle giant, but his criminal past (and four outstanding warrants) meant he couldn't remain part of this season's "American Idol" hopefuls.
In an awkward on-camera meeting on Wednesday night's show, "Idol" executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick told Jones he could no longer remain with the program. As Warwick said, "You've put us in a very delicate position, really."
So Jones was off the show and an otherwise ho-hum season of "Idol" was suddenly injected with a bit of drama.

"I thought they were bringing it to my attention," Jones said in reference to his criminal past. "Letting me know that now they are aware of, you know, this, that and the third. I didn't know what was going to happen, but..."

"Until they said it, I had no clue what was going to happen...I was shocked, but I can't really express what my emotions were at that time."

When asked about whether or not he feels Idol is "exploiting" this story for ratings, Jones right away tells viewers that he's not even trying to think about that or figure out why they did what they did. But he shared that he did complete all necessary protocol when applying to be on the show.

"I know that when I filled out my application, I circled 'yes' that I was previously arrested before. And, you know, they did a background check on me and there were some information that I had to get a lawyer to take care of before I could even be on the show."

 "There were a few minor, small infractions back when I was younger. Two of giving a false name and then there was an allegation of a fight, which was not true. It was not actually a fight. And then one for driving suspended and things like that..."

And are there really warrants out for his arrest?

Jones said, "Not to my knowledge. Everything that needs to be taken care of, as far as that's concerned, my team is handling it very well."

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But was it necessary for the show to tape Jones' conversation with producers and then air it during an episode?

Well, although that "disappointed" Jones because he trusted them, he still shares that it was a "humbling experience. I learned a lot," even though he would prefer that his business (some true and some false) was not televised to the world.
"Needless to say, I'm doing great and I'm ready to get back into my music full force, and I'm grateful for everybody who's supporting me and loving me, it's just amazing."