The “American Idol” contestant whom judge Katy Perry was accused of “mom-shaming” during her audition has left the singing competition.
Sarah Beth Liebe, a quirky 25-year-old redheaded mother of three, gave a standout performance of The Police hit “Roxanne” during the Hollywood round on Sunday night’s episode.
Her rendition actually impressed the previously judgmental “Teenage Dream,” singer, as well as judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
But before taking the stage, Liebe admitted to feeling homesick and “selfish” about leaving her young family behind to pursue the competition.
“I don’t even know what show business is,” she told the cameras. “I’ve been a mom since I was 18. I’ve been married since I was 18. I don’t think I realized quite how hard it would be to be away from my kids.”
So after her performance, she told the judges: “This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually going to be my last performance because my heart’s at home.
“So, I’m going get home to my babies. They kind of need me. Thank you,” she said before running off the stage.
Confused, the judges called her back before the cameras to try to convince her to stay.
“Life is scary,” Perry said. “I also know that it’s easier to walk away than to be rejected. But then I also know that you lose out on your fullest potential.
“And I know that you love your family for your kids. I know that as a mother. Remember, self-love is just as big as motherly love,” she stated.
Perry’s plead was quite the opposite of her first interaction with the kooky hopeful, in which she claimed Liebe didn’t want her singing dreams badly enough and nicknamed her “Freaky Friday” due to her awkward nervousness.
After that first interaction, Liebe headed to TikTok to say it was “embarrassing to have that on TV,” while also adding: “I think that mom-shaming’s super lame.”
On Sunday’s episode, though, the judges still put Liebe through to the next round — but she ultimately decided to leave the show.
“I feel like I’m not going to win the show anyway, so I should just go home,” Liebe told a producer backstage.
“I’m sure that when I get home, I’ll regret it,” she admitted in an interview.
Liebe added, “I probably will go, ‘Damn, Sarah, you should have stayed and you should have done it.'”
“Man, that sucks,” Bryan said to Perry and Richte about Liebe’s decision.
But Liebe further explained her reasoning Sunday on TikTok, claiming that she was “scouted” to be on “American Idol,” rather than auditioning on her own initiative.
“Sometimes you’re presented big opportunities and situations and we have to make big decisions. A lot of people don’t realize that I was scouted to audition. They reached out to me,” the tearful singer wrote over the video of her having a “literal panic attack” after her first audition.
“And I’m so grateful. I’ve never had this much support with singing. And it’s mind-blowing and so humbling and has made me realize how badly I want to do music. Six months ago, I didn’t know that yet. But I’m also allowed to make hard choices that are best for me.
“I took a chance on something big and said yes to a huge and very unexpected opportunity that was presented to me and while it may not have been for me, in the process, found myself again with the most talented people I’ve had the honor of meeting, many of which are now close friends and fell in love with music again,” she stated.
In another TikTok, Liebe shared a snippet of her new song “Bruises,” a boppy tune that she’ll release “very soon!” according to the post.
“American Idol” airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
