Katy Perry seems to have a problem with women who choose to have multiple children and it has lead to a full blown controversy. Perry serves as a judge in the popular ‘American Idol’ show and the incident occurred during an episode which aired in March. Contestant Sara Beth Liebe was introducing herself to the judges when she mentioned that she was 25-years-old and had 3 children. All of the judges responded with stunned reactions and Perry pretended to faint backwards onto the table.
Sara Beth quipped, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out.” Perry responded, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.” Watch the clip:
The comment brought on immediate backlash and many labeled the joke as ‘mom-shaming.’ “Boo to Katy Perry for mom shaming Sara Beth,” one viewer wrote. “Insinuating that she has been ‘laying on the table too much’ to have 3 kids by age 25. A young mother following a dream while raising her children should be raised up not put down. #AmericanIdol.”
Liebe posted her own response to the incident after it went viral online. Her post read:
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 said.
At the start of my audition before I sang, I mentioned that I have three children and was a young mother, and Katy Perry made a joke that wasn’t super kind.
It was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful and that’s that. 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.
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 and everything,” Liebe said. “I see you and I hear you and I am grateful for you, and you’re worthy.
Keep loving your babies. Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that. Bottom line, I don’t think that there’s anything more to it. 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.
The drama didn’t end there though. During this past Sunday’s episode, Sara Beth shocked everyone when she quit the show due to the embarrassment of Perry’s comment. She explained her exit to Yahoo.com, saying, “This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually going to be my last performance, because my heart’s at home. So, I’m going to get home to my babies. They kind of need me.”
Perry, along with the other judges, tried to salvage the situation by giving her a free pass to the next round. But it seems the ‘mom-shaming’ was just to much for Sara Beth. She denied their offer and is now officially off of ‘American Idol.’
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