Ryan Seacrest was blasted for his "unkind" remarks while hosting American Idol on Monday.
With emotions running high, some viewers even urged the presenter to quit his duties and walk away from the show.
The 48-year-old had the tough task of revealing which acts would make it through to the final 12 and which would sadly be heading home.
But as Ryan announced the potential career defining decisions for the contestants, he was criticised for being "nasty" in his delivery.
It was clear from the off that Ryan was in no mood to sugar coat the decisions as he bluntly told one hopeful: "You sang lose you to love me. We might lose you tonight."
His remark went down badly with fans on social platform Reddit, with one user slamming: "We might lose you tonight' was so nasty omg."
Another claimed the host wasn't "softening any blows" in what is surely a tough time for hopefuls.
It led to a third suggesting: "Ryan really needs to leave the show. He's been so off today and yesterday, he just seems done."
On Twitter, a user blasted him for being "brutal" while another gasped at the way he made the revelations.
It's not the only criticism to be thrown in the direction of the hit show this weekend.
Sunday's three-hour long episode which whittled down the contestants from 26 singers to 20 left a section of fans fuming.
The show didn't allow people to vote until the very end and included three live performances from Hunter Girl, Noah Thompson and Smokey Robinson.
Despite the lengthy broadcast, fans were stunned that only six were eliminated.
One Twitter user slammed: ""Are all 26 there tonight or only half? I’m so confused and how is this 3 hours?," while a second said: "Cut out all the bull**it out & this could have been done in an hour. 3 hours is 100% unnecessary."
And the weekend's comments followed swiftly on from reports judge Katy Perry could be replaced on the show for "rude" comments of her own.
Producers are said to be "rattled" by the Firework songstress' behaviour of late. Sources told Radar earlier this week: "Producers are so rattled by Katy's behaviour they're considering replacing her to keep the audience happy."
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