Jason Aldean (Photo: C Flanigan)It goes without saying: Cheating scandals never bode well for a entertainer's career. Especially for one such as country superstar Jason Aldean, who's well known for an enduring marriage to his high-school sweetheart Jessica, as well as his role as a family man (he's the current cover boy for People Country, which features a cozy photo spread of him cuddling with his wife and two young daughters at his Tennessee home).
However, Aldean found himself at the center of such a scandal this weekend, when TMZ broke exclusive photos of the singer kissing a woman in a Los Angeles bar. The girl in question turned out to be Season 11 American Idol competitor Brittany Kerr; i.e., not Mrs. Aldean. Ruh roh.
However, this particular mistake was handled with unusual tact by Aldean, who instead of ignoring the buzz and/or letting his reps speak for him, went immediately to social media and apologized to fans directly.
"Hey Guys--I wanted to talk to you directly, so you were hearing the truth from me and not just reading allegations made about my personal life on gossip web sites," Aldean wrote on his Facebook account. "The truth is that I screwed up. I had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar. I left alone, caught the bus to our next show and that's the end of the story. I ultimately ended up embarrassing my family and myself. I'm not perfect, and I'm sorry for disappointing you guys. I really appreciate being able to work through this privately with my family and for all your continued support."
Fans by and large accepted Aldean's explanation. Although many of the nearly 30,000 comments (as of posting time) on Facebook took him to task for his indiscretion, far more seemed to let him off the hook. "You're human," "Everyone makes mistakes," and "Nobody's perfect" were recurring themes.
Brittany Kerr (Photo: Streeter Lecka)Kerr didn't get off so easily. The NBA cheerleader--whose comely looks caught Steven Tyler's eye on Season 11 of AI, but who was cut during Hollywood Week--received hordes of negative comments on her Facebook fan page, with accusations such as "homewrecker" and worse thrown at her character. A quick check of her official Twitter account revealed an error message; apparently the abuse was bad enough for Kerr to deactivate it altogether.
Aldean will be releasing his eagerly anticipated fifth album, Night Train, on October 16. He's also up for three major Country Music Association Awards in November, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award.
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