Katy Perry has been called out for her “unhinged” method with budding contestants on the latest episode of American Idol.
The US pop singer, 38, who is a judge on the long-running talent series, was tasked with informing wannabe stars whether or not they had made it into the all-important top 24.
But instead of easing their nerves with good news, Perry sent many of the candidates into an emotional spiral by making them feel as though they weren’t successful.
A TikTok video compiling Perry’s various escapades during the episode has since gone viral on the platform. One moment sees the Teenage Dream singer telling one hopeful: “We did not put you in the top 24.”
The woman in question attempts to hold back tears, before Perry adds, “You put yourself in that top 24.”
Another scene shows Perry saying to a young man, “The challenging thing about love is, when you love something, you have to let it go. We have to let you go.”
After a lengthy pause, Perry adds, “ … into the top 24.”
Another reveal shows Perry telling a contestant he “will be going home.” She then says, “To pack your bags to come back to the top 24.”
Viewers took to Twitter to call out Perry for her “brutal” moves, with the torturous behaviour even compared to Tyra Banks’ oft-criticised way of sending models home on America’s Next Top Model.
It comes after Perry copped criticism for “mum-shaming” a contestant last month, in which the Grammy nominee was called out for making a “rude” comment to 25-year-old mother, Sara Beth Liebe.
When Liebe revealed during her audition that she was a mother of three children, Perry, a mother-of-one, reacted in shock given her young age, before pretending she was going to faint on the judge’s table.
In response to the display, Liebe said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” to which Perry replied, “Honey, you been laying on the table too much.”
Liebe later called out Perry on TikTok for “mum-shaming” her.
“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,” she began.
“I don’t have too much to say on my feelings about it because it’s probably pretty self-explanatory. It was embarrassing to have that on TV. And it was hurtful and, you know, that’s that.”