Timothy Poe, the stuttering veteran who claims he developed the speech impediment after an RPG attack in Afghanistan, provided “America’s Got Talent” with a photograph to use during his segment. Here’s the problem: The picture in question isn’t Timothy Poe at all. In fact, it’s Staff Sgt. Norman Bone. Not surprisingly, the real soldier is none too pleased with Poe’s antics.
After receiving a message from a friend who claimed that the latest episode of AGT was “must see viewing”, Bone decided to tune into the program. Much to his surprise, he discovered Timothy Poe and the photograph, which instantly caused Norman’s blood pressure to skyrocket. His anger, in my opinion, is entirely justified.
“First thing that came to my mind was ‘Why would this lying son of a bitch do this?'” he wondered. “I’m absolutely furious. Been seeing red all day.” According to TMZ, Bone is now in talks with the Army’s legal department. If I were Timothy Poe, I’d be a little worried right about now.
FreemantleMedia, the company responsible for producing “America’s Got Talent”, has issued an apology, stating, “We sincerely apologize to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone for using a photo of him in our story on Tim Poe. It was supplied to us by Tim and used on the show in good faith. It has now been removed and will not be used again.”
Poe, meanwhile, is sticking to his story, and claims he plans to sue his ex-wife and those who have penned stories about his supposed lies. Although TMZ has requested proof of the injuries, the veteran has yet to provide any documents as of this writing.