Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Brian Dunkleman‘s girlfriend, Andrea Whitney, is coming to his defense after the onetimeAmerican Idolco-host wasshamed for working as an Uber driver.
On Thursday, Whitney tweeted a photo of Dunkleman and his 5-year-old son Jackson sitting on a hilltop overlooking Los Angeles.
“This is why he’s an Uber driver,” she wrote. “F— you @TMZ. #ImInLoveWithAnUberDriver.”
Andrea Whitney/Twitter
Whitney followed up with a photo of herself, saying, “This is what an Uber driver’s girlfriend looks like. F— you @TMZ. #ImInLoveWithAnUberDriver.”
The backlash began when TMZ reported on the television personality’s divorce proceedings, which revealed he was making a living as an Uber driver. Dunkleman, who is best known for co-hostingIdolalongsideRyan Seacrestduring its first season in 2002, fired back on Thursday.
“I chose to stop doing standup comedy and started driving an Uber so I could be there for my son as much as he needed after our life as we knew it was destroyed. Print that,” hetweeted,referring to his contentious divorce and ongoing custody battle with his estranged wife.
Brian Dunkleman/Twitter
“And I make over a grand on a good week motherf—ers. #HumanBarnacles,” Dunkleman added in a separatetweet.
The actor said he started the job in March 2016 and works about 45 hours a week, making about $800 a week, according to the documents.
Reps for Dunkleman did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In 2016, Dunkleman made a surprise appearance during Fox’s American Idol series finale. (The series was then rebooted on ABC.)
Dunkleman admitted he felt “bitter” after choosing to leave the reality singing competition after the first season.
evin Winter/Getty
“I think I beat them to the punch and I didn’t know,” Dunkleman said of leaving. “I left the show but from what I gather, they weren’t going to have me back anyway. So it’s kind of a big load off my shoulders. I guess I didn’t make a mistake.”
Though he claimed he was he was never told why he wasn’t going to be asked to continue hosting, he accepted responsibility.
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“I didn’t do a good enough job and I don’t think I handled myself as professionally as I needed to back then,” he said. “In retrospect, I really just didn’t have the wisdom I needed to handle what was going on. I like to say I was just young and stupid, but I really wasn’t that young. I was 30 years old.”
The next season ofAmerican Idolpremieres March 3 on ABC.
source: people.com
