America's Got Talent star is a fraud?

[Benevolent One]

NBC's summer talent show "America's Got Talent" looked like it had found a new star this week in country singer Tim Poe, who came to the stage with a heart-tugging story: He's an Afghanistan war veteran who was injured by a rocket-propelled grenade, suffering brain damage and developing a stutter that he can only suppress while singing. But his tale might be too good to be true. Reports are now surfacing that Poe may have fabricated the whole story.
Reality TV blog Rickey.org first reported that the military records didn't match Poe's story. Poe served with the Minnesota National Guard for nine years (not 14, as he said) as a supply specialist, and they can't find any evidence of the injury he describes. "Sgt. Poe's official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports," the Minnesota National Guard said in a statement.

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The Associated Press followed up and found the same thing. "We looked very closely at his record," Minnesota National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Kevin Olson told the AP. "We did not find something to substantiate what he said." Olson also noted that Poe did not receive the Purple Heart, a honor given to servicemen injured in enemy combat, as he would have if his story were true. And now Poe's ex-wife is piling on, telling the New York Post she has never heard him stutter: "There were no combat injuries... I think he developed a ‘feel sorry for me’ stutter.”​

Poe won over the "Talent" judges and viewers on Monday night with his amazing tale, telling viewers in a taped interview that he suffered a broken back and brain damage while heroically trying to save his fellow troops: "There was a guy who came up with a rocket-propelled grenade. I saw it coming down, and by the time I turned and went to jump on top of my guys, I yelled 'grenade' and the blast had hit me." He then earned a standing ovation with his heartfelt rendition of Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes."
NBC had no comment on the story, but if proven true, these accusations could turn a feel-good story into a serious scandal for the network. At the very least, it sounds as if someone at NBC didn't do their homework before broadcasting Poe's story into millions of homes. Poe got three "yes" votes from the judges and will presumably continue on in the competition; we'll have to wait and see how "Talent" addresses these very serious allegations in the weeks to come.

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While I don't watch any of this Karaoke type stuff, this kind of pisses me off. I find it hard to believe that NBC couldn't have investigated this guy's story before they aired it. I think they knew that it was a feel good story that would drive ratings and even if it were proven false, people would then tune in to find out what happens to the newest villain.

Or course, the biggest reason it pisses me off is that it is disrepectful to those who actually have show the type of bravery he claimed to have displayed and actually were injured while doing so.

I still appreciate his service for our country, even if it was not what he claimed it was. I just wish he didn't embellish the story of his service.

 

[blue92]

Since Howard Stern has joined the show the sho has become a big "Gong Show" without the gong and hook . Although I think the hook should be reinstated for this show. The best contestant that ever came off this show was the 10 year old opera singer who didn't have some sob story. Infact I see all the NBC so called talent shows have addopted that every contestant must have a sob story. Every contestant on " the Voice" also had a sob story, like the guy that won he was a professional singer al;ready, was a back up singer for Alicia Keys. Like he didn't already know anyone in the recording business? Yea right.

 

[Mopardh9]

All of these type of talent shows are becoming an embarassment to television, yet they get plenty of viewers. It's almost as if they were scripted just to get better ratings.

 

[FlFlash]

I don't watch the show but in this and many other shows I often wonder if the show or network "Coachs" the contestents to have these storys?
I find it incredibly disrespectful to the viewers the American public and Especially to Our Servicemen and women who truely sacrificed for us. I believe falsification of your service history for monentary gain or any other reason should be a crime and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Thank You now I'm pissed off.

 

[SST55]

That sumbeech ought to be re-deployed to a forward unit in Afganistan. Those guys will make him a hero. Of course any medals he's awarded will then be given posthumously.