American Idol has been criticized by social media users this week for "exploiting" Claudia Conway - the 16-year-old daughter of former Kellyanne Conway.
Per Variety, the popular talent show came under fire after the premiere of the 19th season aired on Sunday evening (February 14). During the show, the teenage daughter of the former Trump administration White House Press Secretary made an appearance.
Take a look at this clip of Claudia Conway's performance in the video below:Conway performed a rendition of Rihanna’s 2016 song 'Love On The Brain' and 'When We Were Young' in front of a judge's panel consisting of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. During her performance, her father, George Conway, watched on.
Conway announced that she would be making an appearance on the show in a recent video posted on her official TikTok account, stating:
"I've been singing my whole life. I grew up in musical theater.
"Music has been one of the pillars in my life and I wouldn’t be here without it. I play about eight instruments. I've just been doing it since I could walk."
However, over on Twitter, there was an immediate backlash to Claudia's appearance, with many social media users accusing the producers of the show of exploiting the girl's family drama for the sake of ratings.
For instance, one outraged Twitter-user wrote: "Jesus, this Claudia Conway thing on #AmericanIdol is horrible. Hasn't she accused her mom of all these horrible things? Now she's getting a virtual pep talk from KellyAnne before singing? The whole family is fraudulent."
Someone else stated: "Claudia Conway is 16 years-old and at the center of an abusive family situation playing out very publicly.
"Let's not pretend ABC and American Idol aren't exploiting this. They're commodifying the unresolved trauma of a child. It's really gross. That's all there is to it."
Another person wrote: "Yep - Claudia Conway debuts on 'American Idol' tonight because exploiting anything and everything to ensure there is at least one Conway on TV at all times is the priority."
Another person wrote: "i feel like the whole "claudia conway on american idol" arc might be rock bottom for us as a society [sic]"
Someone else stated: "I wanted to be happy for Claudia Conway to be on American Idol, but to see the show using her abusive family dynamics to get attention to the show is just. [sic]"
Another chimed in: "I can't put into words why, but something about Claudia Conway on American Idol fresh off highly publicized family drama and mental breakdown feels viscerally wrong to me, my body physically rejects the entire premise."
Finally, someone else chimed in: "American Idol is gross for allowing an abusive creature like Kellyanne Conway to rehab her image on the show, and using Claudia Conway's pain to make a quick buck. Disgusting."
Claudia herself addressed the controversy in a statement of her own made on Twitter, on Sunday, February 14.
Conway wrote:
"hi also a lot of people think that my being on american idol is a publicity stunt but i can promise you it is not. i have been vocally trained and in music for most of my life and did this on my own merit. [sic]"
On January 20, Claudia took to her official TikTok account to post two compilation videos, in which shallegedly showed her mom shouting at her and behaving aggressively.
The first compilation video features the caption: "A COVID recap with Kelly." A woman's voice, which Claudia alleges belongs to her mother, curses, and yells at her, telling Claudia that she posts lies about her family.
In the second compilation, the same voice Claudia alleges is Kellyanne shouts: "You're never gonna record another f***ing thing in your life, it's going for a forensic analysis" - seemingly referring to Claudia's phone.
Both videos have since been made private on the teen's account.
Insider reported back in August that Claudia has previously alleged that her mother behaved abusively towards her, and wrote in a scathing tweet addressed to her 573,000 followers on Twitter: "i’m officially pushing for emancipation. buckle up because this is probably going to be public one way or another, unfortunately. welcome to my life. [sic]"
