ABC is in “crisis mode” and considering taking the spotlight off Claudia Conway after her appearance on “American Idol” was labeled “explorer” because it seemed to capitalize on her serious struggles with her mother, Kellyanne Conway.
For months, Claudia, 16, documented her volatile relationship with her mother, a former White House adviser to Donald Trump, on Tik Tok.
Things got so bad that police got involved last month after Claudia accused Kellyanne, 54, of leaking a nude picture of her (although she later retracted the claim).
This weekend, Claudia appeared on the talent show, with the broadcaster putting her in front and center and presenting her in the show’s promotions. Kellyanne even appeared on the program via a video to encourage her.
Critics say the show is using the Conway dispute to increase the audience, while a Variety article likened appearance to “neglect” and says what is “terribly wrong with that is the degree to which a child at the center of a Bleeding dispute in public view is being asked to wash away the reputation of two adults [Kellyanne and her controversial politico husband George] who should know better. “
Now a source tells us that the chain is “rethinking how they will position Claudia and Kellyanne with the promotion. They were great at putting Claudia in all the promotions, but now they are thinking about not putting so much focus on it … to not give so much importance to her presence on the program and to focus on other competitors. “
ABC is also struggling with its “The Bachelor” series after host Chris Harrison apologized and temporarily stepped down after giving an interview in which he seemed to tolerate competitor Rachael Kirkconnell’s alleged racist behavior.
“Given everything with the ‘Bachelor’, they no longer want unnecessary attention or adverse reaction,” says the source.
Claudia, who sang Rihanna and Adele songs, moved on to the next stage.
Meanwhile, a source close to the family says it does not believe the program has exploited it. “Claudia was exploited by many people,” they said, “but not by ‘American Idol’.” They noted that the program regularly has minors and that they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. “Claudia wanted to do that,” says the source, saying the confusion “is not fair to Claudia. She worked very hard for her audition. ”
In August, Claudia announced that she was “officially pushing for emancipation” and last month, she released a TikTok video that appeared to show her mother verbally abusing her.
Then, last month, the topless photo appeared online, with Claudia saying, “I assume my mom took a picture of her to use against me one day and then someone hacked her or something.” Later, she went back, saying “I know that my mother would never, ever post something that intentionally hurt me like that and I believe she was hacked. I want to apologize for making it all public. “