Katy Perry Booed by Audience for What She Said to 'American Idol' Contestant
It was probably inevitable.
“American Idol” judge Katy Perry received a loud chorus of boos for feedback she gave to Nutsa, a contestant on Monday night’s Top 26 show in Hawaii.
Nutsa had just completed what Entertainment Tonight referred to as an “energetic performance of ‘Paris (Ooh La La)’ by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.”
Incidentally, that’s actually the official name of the song, even though the lyric is very clearly “oo la la.” I wonder how many times that’s been pointed out to Grace Potter? Not enough, apparently.
Perry didn’t correct the song’s name either, but she did have some other things to say.
“Nutsa, every time you take the stage, it’s like you glitter bomb the stage,” Perry said. “Listen, I think one thing I personally would like to see from you is not one piece of glitter the next time.
“I know that’s gonna be hard,” she added.
As the crowd booed, Lionel Richie stood and held his hand out placatingly to the crowd, saying, “Whoa, hostility!” while Luke Bryan laughed.
“Yes!” he yelled. “Katy got booed! Katy got booed!”
“OK, the first time in six seasons,” Perry responded, rolling her eyes. “Woo-hoo!”
For what it’s worth, Nutsa seemed to agree with Perry’s thinking.
“But what I’m saying is that, I’d like you to flip the script,” Perry explained. “I think we want to be pulled in by our hearts too.
“I’d love to see that,” she added, “and I think America might too.”
“Exactly,” Nutsa replied.
You can see Perry’s comment here:
If, however, you prefer a Perry-free experience, you can watch Nutsa’s “energetic performance” here, without the judge’s commentary:
While it’s obvious that the audience didn’t like what the singer had to say about Nutsa’s look, there’s certainly a possibility that at least some of that negative reaction was left over from comments Perry had made to another singer a few weeks back.
Young mother Sara Beth Liebe has quit this season’s “American Idol” following comments from Perry that she called “not super kind.”
She didn’t, however, blame Perry’s comments for her decision.
In a video released on TikTok in the days following the audition, Liebe called the comments “hurtful” but thanked the young moms who supported her and said “women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool” — subtly putting Perry in her place.
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