American Idol hopeful Sara Beth Liebe was “mom-shamed” by Katy Perry during her audition, and now the singer and mom of three is speaking out.
Liebe, 25, recently appeared on American Idol. During her audition, Perry appeared to shame Liebe for being a mother of three, even remarking that she had been “laying on the table too much” — insinuating she’d been having too much sex, or had too many children. Viewers criticized Perry for her treatment of Liebe — and Liebe had some comments to make in hindsight.
In a recent TikTok video, she talked about the “interesting video” she had to film, with the media maelstrom surrounding her experience.
“While I was on the show, there was a ‘joke’ that was made that’s gotten some attention, and I’ve gotten a lot of people reaching out to me asking how I’m feeling,” she began, and added, “I got scouted to go and audition on American Idol, and sing in front of Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry. And 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.”
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She continued by explaining that she didn’t have much to add about it, because she felt it was pretty self-explanatory.
“I mean, it was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful, and you know… that’s that,” she said. “But I did want to take this opportunity to just 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, and I also wanted to take this opportunity to say that, I see all of the young moms, and just moms in general, who have commented on all of the videos and posts and everything. And I just wanted to say that I see you, and I hear you, and I am grateful for you, and you’re worthy. And keep loving your babies. Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that.”
The video has since been viewed over 350,000 times. Live Action founder and president Lila Rose reacted to the audition in a video, saying, “She has three kids! Three souls! That’s amazing. I feel like a comment like [Perry’s] could only come from a place of some sort of bitterness, or even envy … it’s OK as a mom to be a mom that’s very dedicated to your kids, at home with them a lot of the time, but then also have dreams, or you’re working outside the house to contribute to the family, to help support your family. It’s OK! With mothers, with womanhood, it’s not one-size-fits-all.”
Rose also criticized the judges for asking Liebe how she went from being a mom to a musician.
“As if you’re a mom, and suddenly you don’t have a voice anymore? As if you’re a mom, and suddenly you’re not a musician? You’re not good at music? As if you’re a mom, and suddenly you’re nothing else but a mother?” she said, adding, “Do they ask men that, how can you be a musician and a father?”
Perry has not yet responded to the controversy.
