Katy Perry Calls Contestant ‘Karen’ After Dramatic ‘American Idol’ Elimination
ABC/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 4 minutes
Erika Perry had one of the most dramatic eliminations ever during the Genre Challenge on Season 19 of American Idol. The 26-year-old California girl fumbled through her performance of “In The Air Tonight” and her reaction to her elimination was anything but boring. What led judge Katy Perry to call Erika a “Karen?”
Katy Perry Calls Erika Perry A Karen After ‘American Idol’ Outburst
Backstage before her performance, Erika announced that she was still looking for love because her boyfriend dumped her right before her audition. When she got up on stage, she sang one line of the song before letting out a curse and stopping. The judges encouraged her to take her time and to take deep breaths. She sang the song a second time and was scared that she would get eliminated after the blunder.
When the judges brought the artists back on the stage to give them their results, Erika was shocked to find out that she actually was eliminated. “Are you sure? Like I’m not even acting right now, seriously but are you sure?” Erika asked the judges. She was hesitant to walk off the stage and approached Lionel Richie for confirmation. He maintained that the decision was final.
SEE ALSO: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’: ELIMINATED SINGER ASKS TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER
After walking out of the theater, Erika was still in disbelief. “I’m trying to not have an actual b*tch fit because I can get angry and sassy real quick,” she said. “Who’s in charge of this? I’d like to speak to the manager.” This quickly had the internet labeling her as a “Karen.”
Katy tweeted the clip from Erika’s angry rant where she asked to speak to the manager. “Cool it, Karen” Katy wrote along with a waving hand emoji. Erika retweeted this and added, “if y’all gon be callin me karen, you betta put a bad b*tch in front of it.”
She also tweeted to reflect on her performance. “My genre performance was sh*t and I honestly hate that f*cking song and never want to hear ‘in the air tonight’ ever again,” she wrote.
What’s Next For Erika After Her Talent Show Experience?
After her American Idol exit, it looks like Erika has another project in the works that her fans are excited about. She teased on Instagram that she will be joining the adult site OnlyFans. This was followed by a sexy dancing video posted on TikTok.
Previously, it was revealed that Erika is a sex worker which she talked about in the No Jumper podcast. In the recap episode below, we discuss how this should have no effect on the competition not just for Erika, but for future sex workers who want to audition.
She also posted on TikTok that she is currently on house arrest and will be posting a storytime video to explain why rather soon. “Your fave convict,” she wrote with a kiss face emoji in the video.
SEE ALSO: SHOULD ESCORTS, ADULT STARS OR STRIPPERS BE ALLOWED ON ‘AMERICAN IDOL’?
Do you think Erika was eliminated from American Idol too early on?
