Warm Kentucky Adieu Turns Chilly 'Idol' Threat

"American Idol" has apologized for an incident in which judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul accused one of this edition's auditioners -- a descendant of the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg -- of threatening them by telling them to "be careful" as he exited the audition room.

The accusation was part of a story line in which Mark Mudd Jr. was made to appear to be a menacing character during the Louisville auditions.

"We apologize to any viewers who were offended by the misinterpretation of the contestant's comment to 'be careful' upon completion of his audition in Louisville," "Idol" producers said in a message posted on the show's Web site.

"Our visits to audition cities are relatively brief and sometimes regional greetings and salutations are lost in translation," the "Idol" apology continued.

"We had not heard that phrase from any other contestants during the day, so it took everyone by surprise."

But the whole "he's scary" gag started earlier, before Mudd even entered the audition room.

Show host Ryan Seacrest had already spent a little on-camera time with Mudd, so he could tell viewers that his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Samuel Mudd, was "the doctor who fixed John Wilkes Booth's broken leg after he shot Lincoln and jumped off the balcony."

"They gave him 10 years in prison just for doing that," Mudd commented.

"That's not a gun, is it?" Cowell asked Mudd of the cellphone carrier clipped to his belt, as Mudd walked into the audition room.

Cowell and gang may not understand the "regional greetings and salutations" but surely they've seen a cellphone carrier before?

"No, no, no -- it's my phone," Mudd explained, adding that he was nervous.

"It looked kind of like a holster," judge Randy Jackson jumped in.