Former American Idol contestant Sara Beth Liebe had an interesting and short-lived journey on the singing competition show. Unlike most exits, she wasn’t kicked off by the judges or by public opinion. She left on her own accord, stating that she needed to be with her children.
Sara Beth’s three children, and the age at which she had them, were a topic of conversation both in the audition room and on social media afterward, thanks to a comment from judge Katy Perry.
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Katy Perry made a crass joke about Sara Beth possibly having too much sex.
As we reported earlier, when Sara Beth revealed that she had three children at 25 years old, the judges were surprised. Sara Beth made a comment about Katy saying, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out," Sara Beth joked. Katy responded with a comment that has since received a lot o backlash. “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much."
Many suspected Katy's joke influenced Sara Beth to leave the competition.
Many criticized Katy for mom-shaming.
“She was basically insinuating the girl was a slut because she has 3 children at 25 as if she know her story at all,” one Twitter user wrote.
More than sexual history, others thought Katy’s comment seemed to demean motherhood all together.
“That comment wasn’t a joke,” another user wrote. “that was so passive aggressive & f—g rude. No wonder the girl quit the competition. She was humiliated by a judge.”
Sara Beth said she left the show to be with her children.
Sara Beth did say that she found Katy’s comment “lame.” "If you’re a good mama and you love your babies, that’s all that really matters. Other comments just don’t feel necessary," she says.
Apparently, Sara Beth felt that continuing on with the competition wouldn’t be loving her children in the way they deserved. During her final performance, where she sang The Police’s “Roxanne,” Sara Beth told the judges, “This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually gonna be my last performance ‘cause my heart’s at home. So I’m gonna get home to my babies. They kinda need me. So thank you,” she said before rushing off the stage, reported Page Six.
'I'm not even mad,' Sara Beth said about the whole thing.
While Sara Beth shared that she didn’t appreciate Katy’s comments about her children and sexual history, she didn’t attribute her exit to Katy’s words. In fact, she’s stated that she’s unbothered by all of it.
“If you watch my videos, you’d know that I’m not even mad. I’m just trying to do music,” she wrote in her Instagram Story on Tuesday.
Katy encouraged Sara Beth to stay, telling her not to leave the competition and forgo reaching her “fullest potential.” But Sara Beth’s mind was made up. She took her leave.
Later on TikTok, Sara Beth explained that while she was grateful for the opportunity and what it taught her, she also realizes that she's allowed to make hard decisions that are right for her.
