INXS kick lead singer out of band

London, Feb 19 (ANI): Aussie rock band INXS has reportedly dumped their lead singer J.D. Fortune, real name Jason Dean Bennison, leaving him penniless and homeless.

Bennison, 35, had been chosen as the replacement for late rocker Michael Hutchence after winning a reality TV search in 2005, but after he completed a world tour with them, he claims they simply abandoned him, and he is now living in his car.

"I was in an airport (in) Hong Kong and literally got a handshake. They said, 'Thank you very much'," the Daily Express quoted him as telling Canada's Entertainment Tonight.

"I found myself really alone because I had travelled with these guys for 23 months.

"I don't know where I am going from sofa to sofa, from night to night. I am trying to get through my life," he stated.

However, Fortune admits he was probably responsible for his own firing - because he developed a serious cocaine addiction while with the band.

He has been clean for two years, but he acknowledges his drug habit is likely to have contributed to INXS' decision to ditch him.

"It got as bad as it needed to be for me to numb out the fact that I knew this was going to come to a screeching halt," he added. (ANI)