Country music star Luke Bryan has defended his fellow American Idol judge Katy Perry from criticism she’s faced over the years.
Bryan, 46, Perry, 38, and Lionel Richie, 73, have judged the Pop Idol spin-off since 2018.
Addressing the backlash Perry has faced, Bryan told Fox News at CMA Fest (hosted by the Country Music Association): “[she’s] been dealing with stuff like that her whole career”.
“We all get it,” Bryan said. “I mean, we’re judging kids that people at home fall in love with. We’re not going to bat a thousand as judges. I think we get set up. As judges, you know, we kind of fall on the sword a lot of times. And get set up to where people can get very vocal on socials and stuff.”
He added that he, Perry and Richie were “doing the best we can”.
“Katy gets picked on for going out and trying to have fun making a TV show. 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.
“... It makes me appreciate [Perry] even more, just how big of a scale she’s had to deal with that her whole career.”
In April, Perry was booed by the American Idol audience after critiquing a contestant’s outfit.
Addressing the contestant, Perry said: “Nutsa, every time you take the stage, it’s like you glitter bomb the stage.
“Listen, I think that 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.”
Back in March, a contestant named Sara Beth Liebe quit the show after speaking out about “mum-shaming” comments Perry made about her.
After the aspiring singer told the judges that she was a 25-year-old mother to three children, Perry got up from her chair and pretended to faint, as Liebe said: “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out.”
The “California Gurls” singer joked in response: “Honey, you been laying on the table too much.”
After the episode aired, Liebe took to social media to call the Grammy award-winning artist out for the “hurtful” remark.
“It was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful,” she said in a TikTok video.
“I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool, and I think that mum-shaming is super lame.”
She later abruptly exited the show after a live performance to “get home to my babies”.
