This ‘American Idol’ contestant is a mom of 3. A judge made a ‘hurtful’ joke about it

When Sara Beth Liebe took the “American Idol” stage, she wasn’t expecting one of the celebrity judges to make a joke about her children.

Before her “Idol” audition, Liebe, 25, told the judges she had three children. Katy Perry stood up and acted like she was going to faint, leading Liebe to say she would pass out if Perry laid across the table. According to People, Perry responded by saying, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

The audition, which aired earlier this month, has more than 1 million views on YouTube. Liebe has since opened up about the moment, saying the joke was hurtful.

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What did Sara Beth Liebe say about her ‘American Idol’ audition?

“It was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful,” Liebe said in a TikTok video that she released after receiving a lot of messages about the audition, per People. “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.”

She said no mother deserves to feel bad about having children.

Some “American Idol” viewers shared their distaste for Perry’s comment.

“After she sang her pure heart out, the judges acted like they needed to save face and stay rude towards her instead of acknowledging they might have jumped the gun forming an opinion too quickly,” one viewer commented, per Billboard. “Shame on Katy especially.”

Other viewers called Liebe “a ray of sunshine” and complimented her singing talent and her positivity throughout her audition, Billboard reported. With votes from Perry and Luke Bryan — Lionel Richie gave the singer a “no” — Liebe advanced to the next round of the competition.

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What’s the definition of mom-shaming?

Mom-shaming is when people criticize women for making decisions about motherhood that are different than the decisions they would make. According to Intermountain Health, mom-shaming can make women feel insecure and has a negative impact on their mental health.

Judging a woman for the number of children she has can be considered an example of mom-shaming. As a result of mom-shaming, women can have increased depression and anxiety, per the Intermountain Health website.

Other examples of mom-shaming can include judging women for bottle-feeding or breastfeeding, and shaming mothers who work outside the home, Very Well Family reported.