American Idol winner Jamal Roberts declines major honour over online threats: 'I don’t want it..'

American Idol Season 23 winner Jamal Roberts has decided to decline a key to the city of Laurel, Mississippi, following a significant backlash and death threats. He turned down the key to the city of Laurel ahead of his scheduled performance at the Noir & Blanc concert on August 2, 2025, at the L.T. Ellis Centre in Laurel.

Roberta has announced his decision to turn down the honour during a recent Facebook Live.

Interacting with his followers, the singer said via Collider, “You have people sharing the post, making threats, talking about they’ll have guns at the event. I worked with kids before American Idol, and it’s crazy that … kids can comprehend (how to behave) more than grown folk. It’s a sad world we live in.” He continued, “I don’t want it, respectfully. You can have it. Tell them I’m appreciative, but I politely decline.”

After addressing the backlash, Roberta announced that he will be releasing a new song dedicated to heis home state of Mississippi. “I’m gonna dedicate a song back to the state,” Roberts said. “That’s gonna be my first record. My first record I’m gonna drop is gonna be a song back to the to the state. Tell them how appreciative I am. You know, people just don’t expect good things to come out of Mississippi no more, and when they do, they don’t know how to handle it.”

Why is American Idol getting a backlash?

The controversy erupted after local event organiser Drake Paige announced that Laurel Mayor Johnny Magee planned to present Roberts with the key to the city during the event. While Roberts' fans welcomed the honor, the news was not well-received by some local residents, who quickly criticised the decision, arguing that Roberts, who is not a Laurel resident, did not deserve the honour. Due to the significant backlash, Roberts announced his decision to decline the honour.

Previously, the singer had been honoured with a key to the city of Alabama, during a mid-June performance.