Prior to the American Idol finale on Sunday, it was announced that Arthur Gunn, the show's first-ever "comeback contestant," was going to sing with guest Sheryl Crow. But when the show actually aired, it was top 16 contestant Graham DeFranco who ended up duetting with Sheryl. Entertainment Weekly reported that at the last minute, Arthur chose not to perform, and now he's explaining why — sort of.
In an Instagram post, Arthur writes, "Well, let’s just say I missed my opportunity to sing with legendary @sherylcrow. what happened is not much to discuss at this point…it was last minute decision but I couldn’t help but say no cause of some personal morals and values due to unpleasant environmental experiences."
Arthur doesn't say what those experiences were, though. He writes, "I felt like I had to move on," and notes, "It’s not the show @americanidol to blame, they were there long before nor anyone related to show."
"I’m grateful for @americanidol for have given me this platform and helped me to reach out to you all," Arthur continues. "Sometimes things happen and it happens for a reason I guess. I feel upset about it as much as all you might have, and I’m sorry if I did let down anyone but I felt like all these confrontations didn’t need to happen at the show, so I just had to move on from there, sometimes all we can do is move on!!!"
According to EW, after the show, Katy Perry responded to Arthur's absence by saying, "Quite honestly, we've had a very colorful season. Curveballs galore."
In addition to Arthur, the season also saw contestant Wyatt Pike suddenly quit, Luke Bryan miss a show due to COVID-19 and contestant Caleb Kennedy get cut after a controversial social media post.
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