What to Know
As an American Idol judge, Carrie Underwood has been pretty controversial—for multiple reasons. If you’ve kept up with the show, you know that Carrie, 43, has been booed by people in the audience quite a bit. During one memorable moment, fans of the show booed her because she critiqued a contestant who chose to perform an original song. At the same time, many have wondered if the negative feedback she’s received is, at least on some level, political.
After all, some longtime fans of the show threatened to boycott it after Carrie decided to perform at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. There was enough talk of this to allegedly worry American Idol producers. During a recent podcast episode, Carrie shared what she really thought about the fans who booed her and implied that she has no plans to stop sharing how she really feels.
It’s not the first time she has commented on the booing.
Boo me. I don’t care. 😂😜🤪@AmericanIdol
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) March 3, 2026
Ahead of “Hollywood Week,” she warned viewers that they would hear a lot of booing (directed at her, specifically). “Spoiler alert… I get booed A LOT from our Hollywood Week audience,” she wrote on X at the time. Later, she took to social media to assert that the booing didn’t bother her in the slightest. “Boo me. I don’t care😂😜🤪,” she posted.
Then, on the March 2 episode of American Idol, she predicted that the feedback she was about to give one contestant would prompt people to boo her. “I feel you guys are gonna boo me,” she said. “It’s coming — just bring it on. I love it. Your boos are feeding me.”
She then shared her thoughts on a contestant’s choice to perform an original song, calling it “a missed opportunity.”
She spoke about that moment during a recent podcast.
On a recent episode of the American Idol podcast, Carrie once again said she really doesn’t care if people boo her. She said she will always share how she really feels, even if the opinion is unpopular, because she isn’t capable of lying.
“I don’t care,” she said of the booing. “I can’t lie, I’m a terrible liar. As a fan of the show, if there was ever somebody that kind of had an off night and everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so great,’ I’m sitting at home being like, ‘What? Liars!'”
So, even if people feel she’s being harsh, she will continue to speak her mind. The booing isn’t going to stop her from doing that, it seems.
Fellow judge Luke Bryan also defended her.
During one viral moment from the show, Carrie asked fans why they don’t boo Luke. He claimed that he was “trying to get booed,” but still, the booing was merely directed at Carrie. “You’re not gonna boo him?” she asked the audience, referring to Luke. At the time, some social media users argued that people might be booing Carrie more often because of her inauguration performance, not just because of her seemingly harsh feedback.
However, Luke praised Carrie for her “confidence” during the recent podcast episode. From his perspective, sharing honest, constructive feedback is no easy feat. “It’s tough to do as a judge,” he said. “It takes a lot of confidence in yourself, and you don’t want to say something that’s going to tank them in the competition. It’s just something that they need to be thinking about if they go forward.”
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