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Sara Beth lashes out at judge Katy Perry before quitting 'American Idol'

Katy Perry failed to convince Sara Beth to continue on 'American Idol' after mom-shaming the contestant

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sara Beth has quit 'American Idol' despite judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan promoting her to the duet competition. The mother of three left her fans devastated with her sudden and emotional decision on the March 2 episode of Hollywood Week.

Season 23 of 'American Idol' has a lot of outstanding performers who have made it to Hollywood Week, so it can be intimidating for those who don't have much experience. That's why this season, instead of separating contestants by musical genre, they're divided into groups of their choice, coached by former 'American Idol' winners and runners-up - Confidence, Stage Presence or Songwriting. Sara, a mother of three from Roseville, California, who was called an "accidental Idol" by Katy after her audition because she was invited by 'American Idol' producers to audition in front of the judges but wasn't sure if it was her calling, chose the "confidence" category to work on for her Hollywood Week performance. Clay Aiken, the runner-up in the 2003 season, was chosen as her mentor.

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Sara Beth ends performance with a shocking news

Clay returned to Idol after winning the competition in 2003. He acknowledged he lacked confidence when he fought and is now assisting Sara in finding hers. Clay told Sara to FAKE IT if she doesn't feel confident before advising her to overcome her nervousness and not worry about making a mistake. "They're going to love you," Clay said. Sara sang a cover of The Police's 'Roxanne' with a unique deep growl.

At the end of her performance, she surprised everyone by adding, "This opportunity is really rad, but this actually is 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. Thank you."

Katy Perry fails to convince Sara Beth

"I don’t think I realized quite how hard it would be to be away from my kids," Sara said before taking the stage. "They’re all still very young. I feel I’m going to try my best because I’m here, so that’s what I should do. There’s a lot of guilt when you leave your kids to do something completely selfish. I’m just going to try to keep my head on straight," she added. 

Sara later acknowledged that her performance had gone much better than she had expected, but she had to go home now. When the judges called Sara on stage because they thought it was too early for Sara to give up, she still listened to what Katy had to say.

"Sara Beth, I know that life is scary," Katy began. "It sure is," Sara Beth concurred.

"I know it is easier to walk away than to be rejected," Katy continued, "but then I also know that you lose out on your fullest potential. I know you love your family, your kids, I know that as a mother, but remember, self-love is just as big as motherly love. Don’t leave the competition," added Katy. 

"I know I’m not going to win the show anyway, so I might as well go home," Sara said backstage to one of the producers. The judges then called out Sara's group to get their results, and she and everyone else in her section were advanced to the Duets round of Hollywood Week. "Sara Beth, you’ve opened a door that you never thought you would open, and you got a yes, and you may get another yes in the future," Katy said. "Do not give up," she added. 

"I appreciate you," Sara replied. "I am really humbled and grateful, and Katy had some really nice things to say," she said as she strolled away. "I wish my kids were a little older. I understand what a big opportunity this is, but I want to go home. I’m sure when I get home, I’ll probably regret it. I probably will go, ‘Sara, you should have stayed, and you should have done it.'"

Why did Sara Beth turn down Katy Perry's request?

Sara had previously reacted to Katy's controversial comments during her tryout. Fans accused Katy of bullying and mom shaming the singer. Katy's remarks were "hurtful," according to Sara.

Katy was taken aback when Sara revealed to the judges that she was a mother of three at the age of 25. "If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m gonna pass out," Sara joked. "Honey, you been laying on the table too much," Katy said.

Fans took offense to Katy's remark, as well as her overall demeanor towards Sara throughout the audition. She questioned the singer about whether or not 'American Idol' is her goal, telling her she "might need to leave" to make space for other singers.

Sara responded to the controversy on TikTok, acknowledging that Katy's joke "wasn't super kind." "It was embarrassing to have that on TV, and it was hurtful, and that’s that," she continued. "But I did want to take this opportunity to just say that I think women supporting women and uplifting other women is so cool, and I think that mom shaming is super lame," Sara said. "And I think that it’s hard enough to be a mom, and it’s hard enough to be a woman," she added. 

'Red head runaway stole a spot'

Fans reacted heavily to seeing Sara quit the show abruptly. One angry viewer tweeted, "Dear @AmericanIdol you need to vet your contestants better because the red head runaway stole a spot that could have gone to someone else." Another viewer chimed in, "Soooo . . . . She is leaving the competition?? Why waste your time then?? That is a spot that someone else that REALLY wanted it could've had." One fan also tweeted, "I truly feel bad for the person who could have been in Sara Beth's spot right now with her now suddenly quitting..." Calling it selfish to throw away once in a lifetime opportunity, a fan wrote "Only selfish thing I saw was Sara Beth getting the opportunity of a lifetime and she could have changed life for her and her family and she left...after they believed in her smh."

'American Idol' airs every Sunday and Monday at 8.pm ET.

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