‘American Idol’ contestant says Katy Perry’s ‘mom-shaming’ joke was ‘hurtful’

Sara Beth Liebe says she was hurt and embarrassed during her awkward “American Idol” audition where judge Katy Perry made “mom-shaming” jokes about her being a young mother of three.

“There was a joke that was made that’s gotten a lot of attention, and I’ve gotten a lot of people reaching out to me asking how I’m feeling,” the 25-year-old singer shared in a TikTok video posted on March 8.

“It was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful,” Liebe added. “I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool and I think that mom-shaming is super lame and I think that it’s hard enough to be a mom and it’s hard enough to be a woman.”

Well. I didnt think id be making this video, but i just wanted to say a couple things since im being flooded with articles and comments/messages about this.

Liebe concluded her video by encouraging young moms to “keep loving your babies” despite the criticism.

“Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that,” she stated. “If you’re a good mama and you love your babies, that’s all that really matters. Other comments just don’t feel necessary.”

Page Six has reached out to Perry’s reps and did not immediately hear back.



Before Liebe kicked off her audition — which aired on March 5 — she told Perry and the other judges, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, her age and that she had three children.

While all three judges looked surprised, the “Hot N Cold” singer — who shares daughter Daisy, 2, with fiancé Orlando Bloom — stood up as Bryan began fanning her.

“If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Liebe said, to which Perry, 38, replied, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

Fans of the hit show quickly took to social media to express their disdain for the Grammy nominee’s comments.

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“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,” tweeted one viewer.

“Katy Perry is a bully #sarabeth,” added another critic.


“Unsurprisingly @KatyPerry is a terrible person. We should be celebrating young mothers and supporting them, not mock them. Katy is an embarrassment to women,” added a third person.

Despite the awkward audition, Liebe was given a gold ticket following her performance of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets.”

“American Idol” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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