American Idol winner Just Sam posted a video showing the aftermath of them allegedly being attacked on a Subway platform. The singer won American Idol season 18 after performing such songs as Fantasia’s “I Believe,” Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands” and Andra Day’s “Rise Up.” Unfortunately, their post-Idol journey hasn’t been a fairy tale. Sam was dropped by their record label and faced financial trouble after buying back the songs they recorded. The American Idol winner went viral on social media after going back to busking on the streets and Subway. Sam has experienced various health issues at times as well.

American Idol ‘s Just Sam shared an unsettling video of them berating a woman after allegedly being attacked by her.

Taking to Instagram, Just Sam shared an unsettling video of them berating a woman at the Union Square Subway station in New York City. Sam could be heard yelling, “Back up,” multiple times. Parts of the video were hard to hear, but towards the end, the singer exclaimed, “You deal with that on your own.” Sam returned to their microphone and started singing Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” as someone off-camera encouraged them to keep going. The Idol winner’s Instagram caption read, “I can’t believe this even happened,” with two face-with-rolling-eyes emojis.


Since the video only showed the aftermath, fans in the comments were left confused. Just Sam replied to one of those fans, explaining, “She put her hands on me and my sister,” referring to the woman whom Sam told to “back up.” Later, the American Idol winner posted a more detailed account of the situation on their Instagram Stories, saying the alleged attack was “unprovoked…NOTHING like this has ever happened to me before in all my many years of singing underground!!” Sam reassured everyone that they are “okay” and “always safe” because they “never ever go to the trains alone.”

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American Idol's Just Sam auditioning American Idol's Just Sam holding the golden ticket American Idol's Just Sam singing
Just Sam holding a mic on American Idol
Just Sam on American Idol Smiling and Holding a Microphone

Just Sam is used to performing at train stations, but they’ve never experienced something like this before. Since the American Idol winner has gone back to busking to earn money, safety concerns will always be an issue, unfortunately. It’s unclear why the woman allegedly decided to attack Sam and their sister.

Artists and producers like Timbaland have taken Sam under their wing as mentors, yet the singer continues to busk. There haven’t been any updates in a while regarding what Timbaland has done to help Sam’s career. There could be major developments happening behind-the-scenes that haven’t been announced yet. However, if the mentorship doesn’t work out, it appears that Sam will continue down the path of singing at train stations to make a living.

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American Idol's Adam Lambert and Just Sam perform with a mic, and R.J. Helton smiles widely outside.Custom Image by César García

There are all sorts of stereotypes of the kinds of people who cause disturbances on trains and at stations, especially in big cities like New York City, so it’s quite shocking that the American Idol winner has never come across a situation like this before. It’s a relief to hear that the singer is doing well now. Hopefully, an incident like this never happens to them again and that they can make enough progress in their career so they don’t have to busk ever again.