You’re gonna hear him roar. Luke Bryan came to the defense of fellow American Idol judge Katy Perry after she received extensive backlash throughout season 21.
“Katy Perry’s been dealing with stuff like that her whole career. We all get it … I mean we’re judging kids that people at home fall in love with … We’re not gonna bat 1,000 as judges,” the “Country Girl” singer, 46, told Fox News in an interview published on Monday, June 12. “I think we get set up. As judges, you know, we kinda fall on the sword a lot of times. And get set up to where people can get very vocal on socials and stuff. My thing is, I think when me and Lionel [Richie] and Katy sit down at the desk, in our hearts, we’re doing the best we can.”
Perry, who joined Idol in 2017, came under fire multiple times during season 21. The “Teenage Dream” singer, 38, was accused of “mom-shaming” contestant Sarah Beth Liebe in March after making a joke about Liebe having three children at age 25. The Grammy winner was also booed by the audience after telling a contestant to wear less glitter and her criticism was compared, unfavorably, to Tyra Banks’ intensity as a judge on America’s Next Top Model.
“Katy gets picked on for going out and trying to have fun making a TV show,” Bryan explained. “You can’t be so safe in the moment that you’re so homogenized, you can’t ever go for a joke. Or go for a fun moment. Sometimes, you just gotta say stuff.” He added: “It makes me appreciate her even more, just how big of a scale she’s had to deal with that her whole career.”
Liebe, for her part, reacted to Perry’s response to her audition in a candid TikTok shared in March.
At the time of her audition, Liebe revealed to the judges that she is a mom of three.
Shocked that the singer had several children at just 25, the “Dark Horse” artist leaned against Bryan as if she was going to pass out.
“If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m gonna die,” Liebe joked, to which Perry — who shares daughter Daisy, 2, with fiancé Orlando Bloom — responded, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”
After the episode aired, Liebe called out the “Prism” artist for her divisive comment.
“I think 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,” the California native said. “If you’re a good mama and you love your babies, that’s all that really matters, and other comments just don’t feel necessary.”
Liebe ultimately bowed out of the competition one month later, citing her desire to stay at home with her kids.
“This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually gonna be my last performance ’cause my heart’s at home,” she told the judges, who all (unsuccessfully) persuaded her to stay. “So I’m gonna get home to my babies. They kind of need me. So thank you.”
