‘Nobody Wants This’ star dishes on her biggest ‘American Idol’ regret and no, it's not the elimination
Actress Jackie Tohn once made it to the Top 36 on ‘American Idol’ Season 8, but her biggest regret wasn't her elimination, but her fashion choices. During her appearance on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show,’ she recalled her brief experience of being in the competition. “Is it true that you were on Idol? And if so, which season? Clarkson, who was the season one title winner, asked. Tohn made a witty comment about their respective journeys on the show, “I just wanna say that it’s kind of generous of you to have me on the show when sort of my Idol performance eclipsed yours in such a massive way.” This joke made Clarkson burst out laughing.
That was when a throwback picture of Tohn was shown on-screen, likely from her appearance during the 'American Idol' Season 8 grand finale. In the photo, she struck a funky pose wearing skinny jeans and a backless, white, collared shirt with frills. Reacting to her picture, the ‘Bad Roomies’ actress said, “Here I’m in a very regrettable outfit.” She further confirmed that she was in the Top 36 in the “Adam Lambert season.” Lambert was a runner-up but went on to gain more popularity than the actual winner. “That’s so crazy. I didn’t know that before, and I was like ‘Wait, what?’” Clarkson responded.
Despite her unsuccessful and brief journey on ‘American Idol,’ things worked out pretty well for Tohn. Her acting journey flourished, and she found her breakthrough role in the Netflix series ‘Nobody Wants This.’ In the show, Tohn plays Ester Roklov, a Jewish conservative who is adamant about her beliefs. As for returning to reality television, she is happy to leave that chapter of her life behind. Speaking to US Weekly, Tohn revealed that she was already 28 when she first auditioned for 'Idol,' which was already the cutoff age.
So, there’s no way she could do it again. “I was deadass the age of some of the 15-year-old contestants’ moms. And I was like, ‘Hello, do you have a cane?’ It was too much,” she said, adding, "I would never try out again, nor could I, because I think you could do it twice and you can’t be old, right?" In November 2024, the actress appeared on an episode of ‘The Viall Files’ podcast and reflected on her journey on the singing competition show. She recalled being cut in part due to judge Simon Cowell’s brutal criticism.
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“I think one of the major reasons I got eliminated was because he ripped me to the shreds after that,” Tohn said on the podcast. “It was so f—ing cool. I know it was a weird, charmed experience until it wasn’t,” she added. She recalled her 'Idol' season to be "really weird" because the show had changed its format. The elimination from the Top 36 to the Top 24 was drastic and brutal. “My American Idol experience was so interesting and bizarre, but it was fun. That Top 36 f—ed us...,” she said.
