Music artist Jamal Roberts, 27, appears to be implementing serious measures to stay safe while out in public after facing threats.
On July 9, “American Idol” season 23 winner uploaded an image to his Instagram page that shows him being escorted by at least four police officers.
He was seen surrounded by four armed officers, two of whom appeared to be holding onto his arms as the entourage walked through an Arkansas casino.
After seeing Jamal’s picture, supporters of the Meridian, Mississippi, native expressed concern in the Instagram comment section.
“[You] needed four cops? What happened?” said one worried admirer. Another person asked, “Does he really need that level of security?”
Another said, “He definitely need security with those … threats. Keep my nephew safe, Lord.”
Some people mistakenly thought Roberts may have been in trouble with the law. For instance, a worried admirer admitted, “OMG, I thought he went to jail. I was like [the] devil is working.”
However, many were relieved after noticing one of the armed guards, presumably a woman, seemed to be covering a smile with her hand. Roberts captioned the photo, “It’s ok to laugh. Stop being serious all the time.”
“That’s right, laugh, and protect our Jamal,” said one fan.
Roberts was recently targeted with online hostility over the town of Laurel, Mississippi, offering him a ceremonial key to the city. Critics complained he did not deserve the accolade.
The “Heal” singer “politely declined” the honor from Laurel in the wake of reportedly receiving threats against his life. He addressed the controversy during a Facebook Live stream.
“You have people sharing the post, making threats, talking about they’ll have guns at the event,” Roberts told his Facebook followers on June 27, referring to the canceled key to the city event.
The father of three daughters also said, “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.”
While he turned down the offer from Laurel, Roberts accepted a ceremonial award in West Memphis, Arkansas. The former middle school physical education coach embraced that recognition.
“Thank you, Mayor Marco McClendon and West Memphis, for giving me a key to your city. The love shown was unbelievable,” Roberts wrote on his Instagram page.
Roberts performed at the Southland Casino Hotel in West Memphis on July 3. A flower-wielding Jamal serenaded women in the audience to the sounds of screaming female attendees.
Footage from the concert published on YouTube showed the gospel and R&B vocalist passionately singing as he walked through the crowd while surrounded by multiple uniformed cops.
Roberts will head across America, beginning in October, as part of Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” national tour. Fellow R&B acts Kelly Rowland and Muni Long were tapped as openers as well.
In May 2025, Roberts won “American Idol” with a record-breaking 26 million votes for the ABC version of the long-running singing competition series. The first 15 seasons of the program aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016.
He became just the second Black male “American Idol” winner in the show’s 23-year history, following Grammy-nominated singer Ruben Studdard taking home the crown in the second season in 2003.
With a reality show victory on his résumé, Roberts added Billboard chart success to his list of accomplishments. His rendition of Tom Odell’s “Heal” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart. The soulful crooner performed the single on the “American Idol” 2025 grand finale.
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