Considering how fiercely competitive American Idol is — with many aspiring singers trying out year after year for a coveted spot on the hit show — it's unheard of for a contestant to quit. But that's exactly what Sara Beth Liebe just did. The mother of three has left the competition after being cruelly mom-shamed by judge Katy Perry.
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Katy made her controversial comment during Sara Beth's audition
In the episode, which aired on March 5, Katy and fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were surprised to learn that 25-year-old Sara Beth is a mother of three. And that's when Katy cracked her unfortunate joke.
"If Katy lays on the table, I think I'm going to pass out," Sara Beth said, prompting Katy to reply, "Honey, you've been laying on the table too much."
The backlash for Katy was swift, and Sara Beth took to TikTok to share her thoughts about the uncomfortable moment
In her short video, Sara Beth — who welcomed her first child at age 18 — admits to feeling hurt and embarrassed by Katy's comments, especially since the "Firework" singer is a mom herself.
"I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool and I think that mom-shaming is super lame and I think that it's hard enough to be a mom and it's hard enough to be a woman," she says, before offering some words of encouragement for other young moms.
"If you're a good mama and you love your babies, that's all that really matters. Other comments just don't feel necessary."
Sara Beth announced her surprising decision to quit after performing her first-round song
After singing "Roxanne" by The Police during Monday night's episode of Idol, she informed the judges and the audience that she was walking away. "This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually going to be my last performance because my heart's at home," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "So I'm going get home to my babies. They kind of need me."
All three judges — Katy included — tried to convince her to stay
Luke called her decision to quit a "mistake," while Katy begged Sara Beth to reconsider. But she couldn't be swayed. "I don't even know what show business is. I've been a mom since I was 18. I've been married since I was 18. I don't think I realized quite how hard it would be to be away from my kids," she explained.
"They're all still really young. There is a lot of guilt when you leave your kids to do something completely selfish. I feel like I'm not gonna win the show anyway, so I might as well go home."
Katy gave her some words of encouragement for the future
She urged Sara Beth to keep pushing to make her dream of a music career happen. "You've opened a door you never thought you would open, and you got a yes. You may get another yes in the future. Do not give up," she said.
Despite everything that happened, it sounds like Sara Beth doesn't have any hard feelings for Katy and doesn't blame her for her decision to leave the show.
"I'm really humbled and grateful, and Katy had some really nice things to say. If my kids were a little older … I understand how big of an opportunity this is, but I still kinda wanna go home," she later said backstage, reiterating how difficult it was for her to be away from her children.
Judging by her social media posts, Sara Beth has been cracking away at writing music since leaving the Idol set, so we're sure this isn't the last we'll hear of this hardworking mom.
