During the American Idol competition, The Smoking Gun reported that Savol had previously been charged with misdemeanor assault for hitting his girlfriend and mother of his son, Michele Martin, with a telephone on February 14, 2001, so hard that the phone broke.
Idol producers responded that Savol had already disclosed this incident to them and that "considering Scott's honesty and his remorse, the situation did not warrant his disqualification.
The fact that Savol outlasted many singers who were often considered superior to him (such as Jessica Sierra, Nikko Smith, Nadia Turner, Anwar Robinson and Constantine Maroulis) led many commentators to speculate that a portion of Savol's "fan base" actually consisted of people who were attempting to destroy the credibility of American Idol by voting for someone they considered the worst finalist.
In June 2008, Savol starred as one of the headliners for a live music show in Branson, Missouri named "America's Favorite Finalists."
The show featured 6 top 12 American Idol Finalists performing their own music, cover songs and group numbers.