"America's Got Talent" contestant Timothy Poe says he may be crazy . . . but he didn't lie about his military service . . . intentionally.
He's been accused of making up a story about being injured in Afghanistan during his audition. Initially, he insisted his story was 100% legit . . . but since then, he's backed off and said it might not have happened as he said.
In an interview with WFAA-TV . . . out of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas . . . Poe said that he, quote, "really doesn't know right now what's reality and what's not reality." He adds, quote, "Everything I said, I believe . . . I feel like I'm going crazy."
He says because of his various injuries and traumas . . . some of which are documented and some aren't . . . he can't remember exactly what happened where and when. And he's having difficulty figuring it all out.
When asked if he could understand why some people say he's "embellishing" the truth, Poe said, quote, "Yeah, I can . . . but it's the truth that I know. It's the truth that I truly think is real."
The interview lasted 28 minutes, and Poe hardly stuttered at all . . . but he DID when he was asked about the stutter, and the accusations that he faked it.
He said, quote, "It's really only when I get nervous, or I get upset. No, [I'm not faking it] . . . when I feel comfortable around people I don't, because I don't have to think about what I'm saying."
His fiancée said that his stuttering is "off and on," and it "comes and goes." She said, quote, "He can have a whole conversation without stuttering."
Poe apologized over and over again . . . and claimed that he didn't mean to intentionally lie about anything. He said that he's planning on getting help to sort out his issues because he doesn't, quote, "want to get things confused anymore."
His future on "America's Got Talent" is still unclear. There's talk that he gets eliminated in the next round anyway . . . which has already been filmed . . . and that's why NBC doesn't seem too concerned about any of this.
