Luke Bryan defends Katy Perry amid ‘American Idol’ backlash

After an ‘American Idol’ season filled with highs and lows for judge Katy Perry, her fellow judge Luke Bryan is coming to her defence.

The ‘Dark Horse’ singer has been a judge since the show’s revival in 2018 – but during the most recent season, she sparked backlash among fans for various comments she made to contestants, at one point even drawing flak, reports People magazine.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Bryan praised Perry, who he said is used to shaking off negative attention.

“Katy Perry’s been dealing with stuff like that her whole career,” he said, quoted by People. “We all get it. I mean, we’re judging kids that people at home fall in love with. We’re not gonna bat 1,000 as judges.”

The country star, 46, said he believes that he and Perry, 38, as well as fellow judge Lionel Richie, are often put in a tough position, as it falls to them to be critical of contestants that viewers adore.

“I think we get set up. As judges, you know, we kinda fall on the sword a lot of times,” he said. “And get set up to where people can get very vocal on socials and stuff. My thing is, I think when me and Lionel and Katy sit down at the desk, in our hearts, we’re doing the best we can.”

As per People, Perry was the subject of some heat from viewers this season, which began during auditions, when she joked that contestant Sara Beth Liebe – a mother of three children – had been “laying on the table too much.”

Liebe went on to accuse Perry of “mom-shaming” in a TikTok video, and later quit the competition, though the ‘Firework’ singer tried to convince her to stay. Liebe later expressed gratitude towards the show and towards Perry, implying that the two were on good terms.