Kellyanne Conway's daughter returns to 'Idol' reigniting backlash

Claudia Conway, the daughter of former White House senior counselor to former president Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, returned to American Idol Sunday night for the first day of Hollywood week.

Following Claudia's audition back in February, viewers accused Idol of exploiting her for ratings, as well as being complicit in helping Kellyanne, the problematic former White House adviser and Claudia’s allegedly abusive mother, rehabilitate her post-Trump public image. Subsequently, ABC was considering taking the focus off Claudia for the remainder of her time on the show.

However, while it did seem like Claudia's segment was down-sized, the 16-year-old high school student still made the final edit, as well as her mother, which led to the backlash being reignited by viewers. One person tweeted: "Thinking I'll give up watching now. They're going to put Claudia Conway through ahead of much better singers as long as they can for the views." While another person shared that they think Idol is "keeping Claudia Conway for publicity only."

As for Claudia's performance, she sang Bishop Briggs's "River," which got her through to the next round and a serenade by her mother.

Video Transcript

CLAUDIA CONWAY: I'm rehearsing, and she's like, Claudia, that sounds flat. And I was like, what? I was like, I'm sorry, did you just give me criticism?

KELLYANNE CONWAY: Constructive--

CLAUDIA CONWAY: No.

KELLYANNE CONWAY: Because I told her to go up--

CLAUDIA CONWAY: I was like, stay in politics. I'll do the music.

- Claudia Conway, the daughter of former White House senior counselor to former President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, returned to "American Idol" Sunday night for the first day of Hollywood week. Following Claudia's audition back in February, viewers accused "Idol" of exploiting her for ratings, which subsequently led to ABC considering taking the focus off Claudia for the remainder of her time on the show.

- However, Claudia did still make the final edit as well as her mother, which led to the backlash being reignited by viewers. One person tweeted, "Thinking I'll give up watching now. They're going to put Claudia Conway through ahead of much better singers as long as they can for the views." While another person shared that they think idol is keeping Claudia Conway for publicity only.

As for Claudia's performance, the 16-year-old sang Bishop Briggs' "River."

CLAUDIA CONWAY: (SINGING) Shut your mouth, baby, stand and deliver. Holy hands, they make me a sinner.

- Which got her through to the next round and a serenade by her mother.

KELLYANNE CONWAY: You sang so beautifully.

CLAUDIA CONWAY: No, no, no, no, no.

KELLYANNE CONWAY: She thinks I can't sing. (SINGING) This girl is on fire. This girl is on fire.