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Astro Apologizes for Controversial 'X Factor' Attitude
by Laura Prudom, posted Nov 21st 2011 9:40AM
Precocious teen rapper Brian "Astro" Bradley has been making waves in the 'X Factor' pond ever since he first appeared on our screens, partly because audiences seemed dubious that a hip-hop artist could be judged alongside traditional singers, and partly because of his brusque attitude on stage.Last week, Astro hit headlines for almost refusing to sing a "save me" song when he was placed in the bottom two, insisting, "I don't want to perform for people who don't want me here." Simon Cowell was not amused by the sulking, chiding the 15-year-old for disrespecting his mother and the audience with his behavior. (Later, both Cowell and Paula Abdul pointed out that the experience had probably taught the teen a valuable lesson.)
Now, Astro has chosen to address the embarrassing on-stage incident himself, admitting, "I'm 15 and I think I know everything, but the truth is, I don't, and I handled the situation wrong!"
Astro took to his Facebook page to apologize to fans, likening himself to Muhammad Ali when the boxer drew America's ire for evading the draft.
"What I do, I do for the love of Hip-Hop and my fans, and I would never doing anything to hurt either. But please try to understand where my head was last night. Muhammed [sic] Ali was hated by America when he didn't enter the draft. What people didn't know was that he would have entered if the recruiter would have addressed him by his new name. I believed I was being mistreated, and in the moment I thought about Ali's moment," he wrote.
"I want to be the new ambassador for Hip-Hop and a leader of a new young movement of positive kids, but to be that I must have Integrity and Honor first! People are saying I'm "cocky" and "arrogant", well maybe I have watched too many Muhammed Ali films or maybe I grew up having to fight my way home everyday or battle on street corners of Brooklyn for respect. My guards are always up, and maybe I took the situation too heavy. I seriously apologize to my fans, what I said and my emotions weren't directed toward you."
The update came on the heels of some cryptic tweets from the rapper's official Twitter feed, which perhaps lifted the curtain a little higher than Cowell or the 'X Factor' producers might like.
"Politics!! don't be fooled by what you don't know! Thank you AstroNauts for holding me down!" he wrote immediately after the elimination show, following up with, "Its funny how people are quick to judge not knowing whats going on behind the scenes. Maybe I should have given my Disney smile instead!"
Later, Astro clarified, "I feel yall on [how I reacted] but I wasn't talking about viewers when I said I don't wanna perform. If you only knew what I know you'd say otherwise."
There has been some speculation that, similar to Cowell's "mistake" with Melanie Amaro earlier in the season, Astro might have been placed in the bottom two by the producers to stir up drama, or that his defeated act during his "save me" song was just that, an act. We're unlikely to know the truth before the season comes to an end, but the backstage politics behind these talent shows undoubtedly raise their own set of intriguing questions.
Do you think Astro's behavior was all his own on elimination night, or did the producers have something to do with the outcome of the show? Do you think Astro deserves to go home next week?
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