The newly-minted American Idol judge’s new job might be in jeopardy as a result.
American Idol producers were allegedly blindsided when they found out that country star Carrie Underwood will be performing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration this coming Monday.
Underwood is an alum of the show: she rose to fame after winning its fourth season in 2005. She would go on to become a Grammy-winning artist with hits like “Before He Cheats,” and “Jesus Take The Wheel.” She is set to appear as a judge—alongside returning judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie—on American Idol’s 23rd season which will make its debut on March 9.
The artist will be singing America The Beautiful at the 47th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C.
Producers are upset that the upcoming season is being politicized and they fear that people will end up boycotting it. Bryan and Richie, along with host Ryan Seacrest, were reported to be also taken aback by the news and are worried that they might be “sucked” into a political conversation that they “did not want to be a part of.”
There has been a lot of backlash online and many fans are calling for Underwood to be fired from the show. One “ex-fan” wrote on social media platform, X: “I’ve been a huge fan for 13 years…there is no defending this.”
Another posted: “Shame I used to love Carrie Underwood but not surprising.”
Yet another tweeted: “Shame on Carrie Underwood. She has been removed from my playlists. Is it so hard to stand up with moral principles? Money is truly the root of all evil.”
Some celebrities, on the other hand, have come to Underwood’s defense—including those who are far from being fans of the President-elect.
The View’s Whoopi Goldberg, who often speaks out against the incoming president, sided with Underwood and said she supports her decision.
“I stand behind her,” Goldberg said on the show this past week. “If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform someplace, I believe they have the same right. So I have to support (her). It doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested in watching. I won’t be watching. But that’s me.”
Some have said that even though it’s a political event, politics really shouldn’t be a part of it.
This week, T.J. Holmes, who isco-host of the Amy & T.J. Podcast said he understood that a lot of Underwood’s fans are split on her participation.
“But she’s performing,” he said. “It’s an inauguration. It’s an American event, it’s a patriotic event even if in a lot of ways and it just happens every four years in this country. To participate in it, who wouldn’t say yes to that? Does it matter who the president is? Can you not participate?”
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The back-and-forth has compelled the country star herself to come out and say something on the controversy.
Underwood said this to US Magazine in a statement: “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Ironically, the country star has pledged in the past to “stay away” from politics. But politics has a way of pulling people in, even if it’s kicking and screaming—or in this case, singing.