American Idol season-13 finalist Caleb Johnson found himself in hot water with fans after calling them "retards" on his Twitter feed for suggesting songs for him to perform each week.
He then recanted those remarks on Facebook, calling his comments "juvenile" and apologizing to those he may have offended.
The rocker, who last week was not thrilled with the fan song choice of "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," by Aerosmith, was asked about his views on social media in an interview with AfterBuzzTV, and his remarks clearly echoed his frustration with Idol enthusiasts.
"It gives access to a bunch of retards to talk to me, and I don't really enjoy having to see somebody telling me what song I need to sing," he said. "I think at this point in the competition I can pick and choose my own songs and represent me. I don't need 10,000 people telling me 'you should sing this, you should sing that, listen to me.' Fortunately, guys, I'm going to listen to myself, whether you like it or not."
Johnson's words drew ire on that same social media website, leading the 23-year-old hopeful to issue a full apology on his Facebook page.
"For the record, that juvenile comment I made in the interview was not directed toward my fans but to the wackos that send hundreds of hate messages a day to me !" he wrote. "You guys are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for your support. Sorry if it offended anybody; it was the wrong choice of words. Also, I greatly appreciate it when you guys give me song suggestions but it gets really overwhelming at the volume it comes in, so please understand! Rock on !:)"
For the record, Johnson did like the suggestion of "In the Still of the Night," by Whitesnake, which he nailed last Wednesday night.
What do you think, Idol Worshippers? Do you accept Caleb's apology? And what song should he sing next week?
