HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — JD Fortune shot to fame on the 2005 CBS reality show “Rock Star,” landing himself a gig as the frontman for legendary Australian rockers INXS.
But four years later, Fortune says he’s back to living in his car after being dumped by the band.
“I was in an airport in Hong Kong and literally got a handshake that said, ‘Thank you very much,’ ” the 35-year-old singer tells Entertainment Tonight Canada about his impromptu exit interview. “I found myself really alone because I had traveled with these guys for 23 months.”
Fortune seemed to be a fan favorite and propelled the band back to the mainstream, a spotlight they had been searching for ever since the tragic death of their former lead singer, Michael Hutchence, who was discovered hanging in a Sydney hotel room in 1997.
Fortune admits he soaked up the life of a rock star during his time with INXS, including experimenting with cocaine, but tells ET that he’s been clean for the past two years.
“It got as bad as it needed to be for me to numb out the fact that this was going to come to a screeching halt,” the former Elvis impersonator tells the program.
INXS has since fired back after seeing Fortune’s interview with ET, offering a much different version to the story.
“Not only are we shocked by the claims, even the place the supposed incident was to have taken place is a mystery to the band,” INXS creative director and global business strategist, Chris Murphy, says in an interview with Melbourne’s Herald Sun.
“What annoys me the most after viewing Fortune’s interview is the bloody slant he makes toward the founding band members,” Murphy continues. “These guys are the nicest people on this planet, they are not the people he portrays.”
Worse, Murphy tells the paper that the group – Andrew Farris, Jon Farris, Tim Farris, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Beers – had not ruled out a return by Fortune.
“The band have always stated to me that Fortune’s services could potentially be contracted again when INXS next tours,” he tells the Sun. “In fact he was next on my list to call regarding a very big recording project I am putting together for INXS at present. I guess I have no reason to call him now.”
For his part, Fortune says he has literally scraped up all of his loose change and is hard at work on a new album, but says he’s watched many of his pals desert him along the way.
“I have friends that are literally rejoicing in the fact that I’m back to living out of my car,” he tells ET, before adding, “I’m trying to get through my life.”
Watch JD Fortune’s interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada.
