Jason Brock may have had a leg up on his X Factor competition in the Twitter department, but that didn’t seem to help him with America’s votes.
With the judges locked in a dead heat on elimination night, the decision on who to send home ultimately landed on the audience’s shoulders with Brock — earning the fewest votes on Wednesday night — being sent home over CeCe Frey.
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“I got to go with this, which is very me,” said Brock, gesturing at his ensemble, “and I got to do ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ which is me, so I ended on a very ‘me’ note.”
But Brock had to wonder: Did his outspoken nature regarding his sexual orientation hurt him when it came time for America’s votes?
“It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” he told reporters backstage following his elimination. “I think that being gay is a wild card in itself. When you’re gay, some people still aren’t OK with you being gay. So there are actually people in the country… I don’t know how many… who think it’s actually wrong.
“So I wouldn’t doubt it if that does hurt in a way.”
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Earlier this week, Brock spoke with THR about the Adam Lambert comparisons many viewers had drawn. “I’m just gay, does that mean we’re the same?” Brock pondered at the time, though it’s worth noting that Lambert was not openly gay during his tenure on American Idol. He ultimately finished in second place, after which he came out to the public as a gay man.
But for Brock, it was important to represent himself as a member of the gay community while on the air.
“I just wanted to make a statement and make sure that gay people got attention,” said Brock. “I have a connection with that community and I felt like it was important.”
During his exit speech, Brock boldly proclaimed: “I did it for the gays… and Japan.”
“My boyfriend lives in Japan and he’s Japanese,” Brock later explained. “I personally love Japan and I visited recently, and I wanted to go back and maybe even work there. I just wanted to be clear that I really love Japan. Please give me a job, Japan.”
Email: Sophie.Schillaci@thr.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci
, because I wonder if he loves me or hates me,” says the season two finalist in an interview with THR. “]
