Did ‘American Idol’ Contestant Alex Lambert Lie About Being Homeless?

Yesterday we posted about American Idol semi-finalist Alex Lambert‘s recent homelessness: The singer/songwriter announced via Twitter that he’d been sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles while trying to pursue his music career. But late yesterday, reps for the soulful Texan claim that Alex lied on his feed and is not, in fact, homeless at all. A spokesperson for American Idol claims that Alex’s homelessness story was totally invented. And a rep for XIX Entertainment, the company Alex is currently working with, released this statement:

“Alex is not homeless. He’s been crashing on friends’ couches while looking for an apartment, but he’s getting a retainer and working on demos.”

Alex initially backpedaled, tweeting that he does, in fact, have some money and plans on getting his own apartment. But now he’s maintaining that his version of things is the truth, explaining what happened to his alleged monthly retainer from XIX:

“I dont give a damn about money either! I have never had any and I’ve been just fine! The money that I was makin and have made I have sent home for my Mother and my 3 broke ass brothers sleepin on the ground! I just wanted the people that loved me to know what was really goin on.”

So what’s true here? Did Alex make up the story of his homelessness for sympathy and publicity? Or are Idol reps attempting to cover-up an unflattering portrait of one of their contestants? Perhaps it’s some combination of the two. Alex’s most recent claim is that he’s “goin back home to get my shit together!” before returning to L.A.