Australia’s Got Talent rapper faces court

Rap performer Matt White- aka “The Bandit”- who finished sixth in Australia’s Got Talent last year, says the talent show did not prepare him for the downside of popularity.

He told the Western Advocate he left the show on a high with promises of recording opportunities and a contract with a high profile management company.

“Being on television was awesome and I lapped up all the love and attention and the chance to shine in glory,” he said.

“Producers were on hand to make sure everything was good but there was no warning about all the bad stuff that happens back in the real world.

“I quickly found that a lot of people are jealous about what I have achieved. They think I have a lot of money and want a piece of me. The death threats, hate mail and negative sites on the internet have been pretty hard to take.”

But he was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a person at Wauchope on October 25 and appeared in Dubbo Local Court.

Under court-imposed conditions he must report to Coonabarabran police every day.

“The reporting conditions are causing my career to stall,’’ he said.

“I’ve already had to breach a contract to perform at Perth and that could end up costing me $40,000.”

He will reappear in Port Macquarie Local Court on March 19.