Former American Idol host Brian Dunkleman is now driving for Uber — and he's perfectly fine with that. After TMZ reported on Thursday (Jan. 3) that the former TV host is a driver for the ride-sharing company, Dunkleman had some choice words for those who look down on how his career has progressed.
"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," Dunkleman tweeted, referencing his divorce from and custody battle with his wife, Kalea Dunkleman. The couple has a son together, 5-year-old Jackson.
TMZ learned Dunkleman's current occupation by obtaining financial documents he submitted as part of divorce proceedings. The paperwork notes that Dunkleman began driving for Uber in March of 2016 and works about 45 hours per week; it also notes his weekly pay, checking account balance and monthly expenses.
"And I make over a grand on a good week motherf--kers," Dunkelman adds in a second tweet. In both tweets, he tagged TMZ and its founder, Harvey Levin.
A native of New York State, Dunkleman co-hosted the first season of American Idol in 2002 with Ryan Seacrest, but elected to leave the gig after Season 1. He later admitted, People reports, that he believes he would have been fired had he not left of his own accord; still, Dunkleman added, he was "bitter" about his decision after seeing how successful the show became.
Dunkleman made an appearance on American Idol during the show's Fox series finale in 2016 (the TV singing competition has since been revived on ABC). At the time, he said that he was "very glad" to have been asked back.
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