‘X Factor” rapper Astro says he’s giving the show “one more week” — even though his mother has told him to quit!
The lippy Brooklyn teen — whose real name is Brian Bradley — apologized over the weekend for throwing a hissy fit onstage Thursday when he landed in the bottom two of vote-getters and faced possible elimination.
But now, he contends the show threw him under the bus after an off-camera dispute over a pair of headphones.
Placing the high schooler in the bottom two — and forcing him to sing for his survival — “was ‘X Factor’s’ way of punishing me,” he tells The Post.
“I don’t see how you can have the most followers on Twitter out of everybody in the competition and get voted in the bottom two. So, I thought something was jiggy.”
Astro narrowly escaped elimination even though he all but refused to perform his “survival” song for the judges.
“Stop folding your arms, look at me and think about your mom watching this show,” judge Simon Cowell scolded. “You are showing disrespect to your mom.”
But according to Astro, his mother, Cascia Thompson, had his back.
“She knew what was going on,” he says. “She was tellin’ me, ‘Just leave. You need to leave and go home.’ It’s stupid, you know. But I told my mom, ‘Let’s at least try it one more time. Let’s get one more week in.’ ”
The drama, sources say, began last week when Astro defied producers and insisted on wearing a pair of Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones — even though the show has a sponsorship agreement with Sony.
“I don’t think it is the right thing that he did, but I understand what he did,” fellow finalist LeRoy Bell says of Astro’s on-camera pout.
“He was hurt. I saw the tear rolling down his eye. And I felt for him. It is a lot to handle for a 14-year-old. He is sort of a serious kid. It is unfortunate that he lashed out the way he did, because a lot of people aren’t going to give you a break when something like that happens.”
But Fox officials last night said the count was accurate.
“After the public vote, Astro was in the bottom two last week. All votes are collected and tallied by an independent vote management firm. The results were certified to be true and accurate,” an “X Factor” spokesperson said.
Astro — who has famously vowed to become “bigger than Jay-Z” — insists his swagger and confident demeanor are often misinterpreted as cockiness.
“It’s a competition,” he points out. “We are all fighting to stay here. How you going to say I’m cocky? Muhammad Ali does this. It’s not cocky, it’s confidence. ”¨”¨
“You going to call me arrogant for believing in myself? Come on! It’s a competitive sport. Rappin’ is the closest thing to boxing. Jay-Z said that. You gotta fight every day.
“Where I am from, I had to fight every day just to keep my name, Astro. I had to battle every day with someone on the corner. On the way to school, on the way everywhere. So, I am not backing down.”
All nine remaining contestants will perform for America’s votes tonight at 8 on Fox.
And if Astro once again comes up short?
“I’ll handle it differently,” he says, “because I’ll know people actually voted me in the bottom two.”