ABC was criticized in Claudia Conway’s 16-year-old American Idol test, with some critics calling it ‘the worst kind of exploitation of a minor’ on television reality shows.
Claudia, whose parents are former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, arrived in Hollywood after her debut as an American Idol singer on Sunday night.
His audition, which was filmed last fall and heavily promoted by the network in the days leading up to the episode, ended up spanning two segments.
It featured a surprise video message from her mother, as well as excerpts from Claudia describing her relationship with Kellyanne as ‘fishy’ and the teen star of TikTok saying she wanted to get away from ‘the drama’ around her home life.
At one point, Judge Katy Perry asked Claudia – whose father accompanied her on the test – if she was okay and if her mother is still hugging her.
Claudia, whose parents are former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, arrived in Hollywood after her debut as a singer on American Idol on Sunday night
Immediately after Claudia’s audition aired, critics attacked and accused ABC and network executives of taking advantage of the teenager.
Claudia rose to fame on TikTok last year due to her vocal stance against Trump and heated arguments with her mother, who she has accused of abuse on several occasions.
Some of his videos have raised concerns about the teen’s safety, as well as calls and emails to authorities.
Last month, police in her hometown, New Jersey, launched an investigation after Claudia accused her mother of posting a photo of her topless on Twitter before she stepped back and said Kellyanne was not to blame.
Variety TV critic Daniel D’Addario dedicated an entire column to Claudia’s audition shortly after it aired, with the title: How ‘American Idol’ used Claudia Conway.
“Claudia Conway’s appearance on ‘American Idol’ – the worst type of exploitation of a minor that reality TV has ever done in memory – should provoke a real search for conscience among ABC executives, ‘D’Addario posted next. of a link to your column.
Others also joined Twitter, saying, ‘That Claudia Conway story was pitiful. ABC taking advantage of it that way. I don’t think we will be any better in 2021. Bless her.
Her test, which was filmed last fall and heavily promoted by the network in the days before the episode aired, ended up spanning two segments. She is in the picture above with her father George Conway
Her audition featured a surprise video message from her mother, as well as excerpts from Claudia describing her relationship with Kellyanne as “iffy” and the teen star of TikTok saying she wanted to get away from “the drama” around her home life
Another said, ‘It seems that being in the high pressure media spotlight on a program designed to explore emotional drama for the audience is the last thing Claudia Conway needs right now.’
‘American Idol is so disgusting for that. Claudia Conway is a child. Time course. The same ppl screaming about #freebritney is getting involved in this. It’s so strange, ‘one person tweeted.
During the audition, Claudia talked about her relationship with her mother.
“I am Claudia Conway. I’m 16 years old. My mom is Kellyanne Conway. She worked for Donald Trump. And my dad is George Conway. He’s a lawyer who worked against Donald Trump, ”she said.
‘I had to move to DC when I was 12 and I hated it. When your mother is working for the President of the United States, with whom you strongly disagree, it is difficult.
Perry immediately asked her, ‘Are you okay?’
“No,” replied Claudia. – No, but yes.
Claudia said it was ‘difficult’ to grow up with her mother working for Trump and that she believed her ‘feelings were suppressed’ before going on to social media and starting posting about her own opinions.
‘For most of my life, my feelings were suppressed, so I went on social media and thought,’ Well, yes. Now my voice is being heard, ‘she said.
Variety TV critic Daniel D’Addario dedicated an entire column to Claudia’s test shortly after it aired, with the title: How ‘American Idol’ used Claudia Conway
Perry then asked Claudia if her mother ‘still hugs her’ after all the public drama.
Claudia replied: ‘Yes, but our relationship is doubtful. She loves Me. I love her. I feel that our relationship is a little dubious.
She said she wants to bury the ‘controversy’ and focus on her singing.
“The internet can be a very, very dark place,” she said. ‘But when life is going down the drain, I have my music. Now, I kind of want to get out of the controversy, get out of the drama and let people know that I’m a singer and that’s what I want to do. ‘
Claudia started her audition with a version of Rihanna’s Love on the Brain, but was interrupted by Perry after a difficult start.
“Okay, that song, you missed it,” said the judge, before urging Conway to remove his shiny high heels, which the teenager said was making her trip.
Claudia then had a chance to redeem herself, choosing to play Adele’s When We Were Young.
Before starting again, Perry gave a stimulating talk.
“When you sing the next song, think about when you were young and go back to that time,” said Perry. ‘There is a sadness there. So, you lost your youth, because you were not able to live alone, without all that noise.
– Your father is your father. Your mother is your mother. Who is Claudia? You have to calm the storm around you, because if you sing like you want to read the comments on social media afterwards, you will always be a TikTok star. We want an American Idol. ‘
The 16-year-old was voted for the next round by judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, but failed to convince Luke Bryan with his interpretation of Adele’s When We Were Young, who told her to believe she had “limited” reach.
At one point, Judge Katy Perry asked Claudia – whose father accompanied her to the test – if she was okay and if her mother is still hugging her
Claudia gathered her thoughts for a few moments while her father listened from outside.
‘I couldn’t imagine anything that would make her happier than doing this,’ said George, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Back in the audition room, Luke Bryan said that Claudia had ‘been through a lot as a girl’.
The country star credited her for “selling the emotions” of the song, but said he believed she had limited vocal reach and voted against sending her to Hollywood.
Perry, however, said he was willing to invest in Claudia, leaving the deciding vote to Richie.
“I think what you’re doing now is to step forward and announce who you are,” he said. ‘You chose music. I will give you a chance in music. It’s a yes for me. ‘
The teenager shared the news of her golden ticket with Kellyanne through a video call.
Kellyanne screamed with joy and started dancing, saying to her daughter: ‘I love you very much, I am very proud of you.’
The duo also shared a moment before Claudia’s performance, in which Kellyanne said to her, ‘This is your time to shine.’
Kellyanne told Claudia she “should be nervous”, adding that “the winners are people who are willing to lose”.