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"American Idol contestant Matt Farmer has reportedly confessed that he lied about his military service. Farmer, who auditioned for the Idol judges in Long Beach, had claimed on the show that he was seriously injured after an IED exploded near him while he was serving in Iraq.  However, the military website Guardian of Valor later questioned Farmer&amp;#039;s account and posted messages from people claiming to have served with him who denied his claims. The website later added messages from someone claiming to be Farmer, who suggested that his words had been edited by American Idol producers. The contestant - who got through to the next stage of American Idol after his rendition of &amp;#039;A Change Is Gonna Come&amp;#039; - allegedly later sent a statement admitting that he had been untruthful. &amp;quot;Everything you have read is correct,&amp;quot; the statement reads. &amp;quot;It was ALL lies. I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it. I am coming out and making a statement (even though I was instructed not to) because I DO want to come clean.&amp;quot; Farmer reportedly continued: &amp;quot;I do in fact take FULL responsibility for the actions and words I have said, and know that this will never go away.  &amp;quot;In NO way was I looking to take from everyone who has served. I started to believe my own lies. And after I believed them... I would catch myself talking like it had happened to me my entire life.&amp;quot; Farmer allegedly said that &amp;quot;the lies end here&amp;quot; and continued: &amp;quot;I want to base the life I have left on nothing but what is real and genuine in the here and now. I am EXTREMELY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that I was deployed with among others.  &amp;quot;To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply embedded in my life and brain... is ridiculous. Hindsight is always 20/20.&amp;quot; He added that he is &amp;quot;deeply regretful and sorry&amp;quot;, saying: &amp;quot;My road to figuring out how to make a life built on trust starts now. It starts with getting help. And starts with this message. &amp;quot;I was told to keep quiet and not talk to anyone, and I have decided that what&amp;#039;s best for me and my family is to come out and end the insanity. I indeed have many things to work with and need to get a lot of help doing it. Again I apologise to everyone that I have come across and hurt or lied to.&amp;quot; Farmer reportedly concluded: &amp;quot;I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED.&amp;quot; He has also allegedly told the website that he is no longer a part of American Idol, while a spokesperson for the show has not commented on the reports, TV Guide says. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/american-idol/news/a456249/american-idol-singer-matt-farmer-lied-about-military-injury/>