American Idol contestant Sarah Beth Liebe has called out judge Katy Perry for apparently mocking the mother-of-three during her audition.
During the episode, which aired on 5 March, Liebe told judges that she had given birth to three children before the age of 25.
Perry, 38, got up from her chair and ran to the side of the judge’s table before pretending to faint.
This prompted Liebe to say: “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out.”
The “California Gurl”s singer then replied: “Honey, you been laying on the table too much,” which prompted laughter from her fellow judges Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan.
Liebe sang Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets” in her audition, hettingvoted through by a majority from Perry and Bryan. Ritchie, though, wasn’t as convinced.
In a new TikTok video, posted following the broadcast of her audition, the aspiring singer admitted that she found the joke made by Perry “hurtful” and went on to discourage others from taking part in “mom shaming”.
She started the video by introducing herself, before explaining what happened to her during the audition.
“At the start of my audition, before I sang, I mentioned that I had three children and was a young mother and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn’t super kind,” she said.
“I don’t have too much to say on my feelings about it because it’s probably pretty self-explanatory.”
She continued: “It was embarrassing to have that on TV. And it was hurtful and, you know, that’s that.”
Liebe went on to encourage others to uplift women and spoke directly about other young mothers who have reached out to her in support.
“But I did want to take this opportunity to say that 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. I wanted to take this opportunity to say I see all of the young moms and just moms in general who have commented on all of the videos and posts. I see you and I hear you and I am grateful for you.”
She added: “Keep loving your babies. Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that.”
“I think if you’re a good mama and you love your babies that’s all that really matters and other comments don’t feel necessary,” she concluded.
The Independent has contacted representatives of Perry for comment.
