Katy Perry is facing serious backlash due to her “bullying” behavior towards a contestant on a recent episode of “American Idol.” The “Teenage Dream” singer, who’s one of the show’s judges, has been accused of being unnecessarily rude to mom of three Sara Beth Liebe, who auditioned for the show with a rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” on the March 5 episode.
Perry hated the rendition, so she asked Liebe to sing another song. “That’s not enough,” Perry said, dismissing Liebe’s singing. “Try ‘Bennie and the Jets.’ Try it.”
She told Liebe that the Winehouse performance was so poor, it’s clearly “not her dream yet” to be a singer. “Show us what your voice can do. Take it to the limit. No looking back. Sing it like it’s your new dream.”
Liebe indeed gave the Elton John hit her all, saying afterward that she feels like she was “about to pass out.” However, Perry still didn’t have a kind word to say. She called Liebe a “comic strip character just came to life” and an “Accidental American Idol,” whatever that even means.
“Look, if it’s not your dream, it’s not going to go far,” Perry rudely continued. “I also respect everyone who’s walking through that door who will lay down their life for this golden ticket.”
As it turns out, Liebe got two yeses from the panel, so she’s still going to Hollywood. However, that didn’t stop social media from kicking off about Perry’s behavior.
“I really do not like how Katy Perry just treated Sara Beth on #AmericanIdol I don’t watch this show at all and my tv was already on the channel but what I witnessed was not right. They let Katy Perry bully this woman on live national tv before she even started singing. So ugly,” one person wrote on Twitter.
Another added: “Boo to Katy Perry for mom shaming Sara Beth. Insinuating that she has been “laying on the table too much” to have 3 kids by age 25. A young mother following a dream while raising her children should be raised up not put down. #AmericanIdol.”
However, there were some people who said that Perry was just “being honest” and that it’s part of her job. Whether or not Katy Perry’s comments towards the “American Idol” hopeful actually counted as bullying is up for discussion. However, she could have been a bit nicer, don’t you think?
