'American Idol' Viewers Accuse Series of Exploiting Claudia Conway for Ratings

Stephen Andrew

02/16/2021 02:34 pm EST

American Idol viewers have some harsh words for the series following its recent season premiere, accusing it of exploiting 16-year-old Claudia Conway for ratings. Conway is the daughter of former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway. Conway auditioned for the judges during Sunday's premiere, performing both Rihanna's "Love on the Brain" and Adele's "When We Were Young."

The judges passed Conway, with both Katy Perry and Lionel Richie voting "yes" on her. Before the teen exited the auditioning room Perry said to her, "You need to get off your phone. You need to stop reading your comments. Push it aside. Because if not, you may not ever rise above your dad or your mom. It's your choice." Many American Idol viewers have taken issue with the show's decision to include Conway, however, as they feel exploitive of her recent volatile family situation.

Over the past several months, Conway's family has been in the headlines regarding abuse allegations and Conway's attempt to emancipate herself from her parents. There was also an inappropriate photo of Conway posted on her mother's Twitter page, which is alleged to have been shared by someone who hacked the account. Scroll down to see what American Idol viewers are saying on Twitter about Conway and the show.

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"Claudia Conway is 16 years-old and at the center of an abusive family situation playing out very publicly," journalist and writer Charlotte Clymer wrote. "Let's not pretend ABC and American Idol aren't exploiting this."

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"They're commodifying the unresolved trauma of a child," Clymer added. "It's really gross. That's all there is to it."

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"I can't put into words why, but something about Claudia Conway on American Idol fresh off highly publicized family drama and mental breakdown feels viscerally wrong to me, my body physically rejects the entire premise," someone else offered.

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"Jesus, this Claudia Conway thing on [American Idol] is horrible. Hasn't she accused her mom of all these horrible things? Now she's getting a virtual pep talk from KellyAnne before singing? The whole family is fraudulent," one Twitter user said.

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"It feels like ABC is exploiting Claudia Conway, right? Just like several journalists did, to a child that's been in crisis," another person shared. "This feels wrong & I can't watch."

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"Claudia Conway's appearance on American Idol — the worst sort of exploitation of a minor that reality TV has done in memory — ought to prompt real soul-searching among ABC executives," tweeted journalist Daniel D'Addario.

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"If you are regretting how you consumed media about Britney in the past but are currently eating up Claudia Conway's appearance on American Idol...stop and think for a second," one last user offered.

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