James Conrad Verraros (b. February 8, 1983) is an American entertainer and native of Chicago, Illinois who is most notable for being one of the first two finalists to be voted off the first season of American Idol. Because he was raised by deaf parents, he is fluent in American Sign Language.
The only openly gay contestant ever to be on the American program (as of Season 4, there has been unconfirmed reports that Anwar Robinson is also gay but they have not been confirmed), Verraros quickly became a celebrity in the American gay press because of a controversy that erupted when Fox Broadcasting Company made him remove gay-friendly comments from his network-sponsored American Idol web site in the summer of 2002. In contrast, the winner of Pop Idol season one, AI's British parent series, was openly gay singer Will Young.
As an actor, Verarros is a star of the 2004 gay-themed comedy, Eating Out , directed by Q. Allen Brocka and produced by Ariztical Entertainment .
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