Katy Perry has been criticized by American Idol fans on social media after she allegedly "bullied" a contestant.
On Sunday (March 5), the 38-year-old 'Firework' hitmaker joined Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as they put singing hopefuls to the test.
One audition that currently has the internet talking is Sara Beth Liebe, a 25-year-old that openly confessed that she's not much of a singer except on karaoke nights and in her church choir.
Ahead of her performance, Sara Beth revealed that has three children, to which the 'Dark Horse' songstress pretended she was about to faint on the table and jested: "Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much!"
Watch Sara Beth's audition below:The red-haired auditionee first sang a soulful cover of Amy Winehouse's 'You Know I'm No Good' but during her performance, an unimpressed Perry interjected: "Come on, we need more".
Then after the song ended, the 'California Gurls' hitmaker remarked "that’s not enough," and then instructed Sara Beth to sing 'Bennie and the Jets' by Elton John instead, claiming that she had nothing to lose because "it was not her dream yet".
The singer then urged her to "show us what your voice can do, take it to the limit, no looking back," adding "sing it like it’s your new dream".
The chipper contestant took her advice and pushed her vocals to the limits during her rendition of the second song, which evidently impressed Perry who continuously yelled: "More of that! Hold it out."
At the end of the stellar performance, all three judges applauded Sara Beth, and the 'Teenage Dream' musician nicknamed her "Accidental American Idol" and said: "I feel like a comic strip character just came to life," with a deadpan expression.
After watching the contestant's version of the classic hit, many viewers flocked to their social media pages to accuse Perry of "bullying" and "mom shaming" Sara Beth.
One user angrily wrote: "I really do not like how Katy Perry just treated Sara Beth on #AmericanIdol I don’t watch this show at all and my tv was already on the channel but what I witnessed was not right. They let Katy Perry bully this woman on live national tv before she even started singing. So ugly."
Another user chimed in and said: "Boo to Katy Perry for mom shaming Sara Beth. Insinuating that she has been 'laying on the table too much' to have 3 kids by age 25. A young mother following a dream while raising her children should be raised up not put down."
A third commented: "I just wish @katyperry wouldn’t have been so nasty to her. She was rude and kept on and on about it until Sara left! She is a little too much at times!"
A fourth shared: "Stay at home moms never have time to think of [their] dreams bc [they're] making everyone else's come true!"
Despite social media's reaction, the 'Roar' singer - along with Luke Bryan - voted for the young mom to move on to the next round, while Richie "went with his gut" and voted against her because he didn’t think she took the competition seriously.
"Sara Beth, you’re in the dream now. Go get your golden ticket," Perry said as she dismissed the excited contestant. "Hurry before the dream ends!"
