American Idol 2023 LIVE Fans divided over alum Lauren Daigle singing with contestant Megan Danie

American Idol scandals: A controversial kiss

The current judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan have proved less contentious and controversial than past panels.

However, in 2018, Katy kissed a contestant on the show and they didn't like it, which caused backlash from fans.

Benjamin Glaze auditioned for the show and told the judging panel that he had never been kissed before.

Katy beckoned Benjamin over for a kiss on the cheek, but then turned her head and kissed him on the lips.

Even though the contestant told The New York Times that the kiss made him "a bit uncomfortable," he did not think he was sexually harassed by Katy.

He clarified on Instagram: “I am not complaining about the kiss from Katy Perry at all, doing a few news reports and being interviewed by many different reporters has caused some major questions."

American Idol scandals: Carey v. Minaj, cont.

After a contentious season, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj finally spoke out about the tension between the two.

In 2013, Nicki spoke to Ellen DeGeneres and said that she didn't believe Mariah was going to be on the show.

When they started working together, Nicki “started feeling a little bit of, like, the shade" so she “overcompensated by being crazier.”

In 2015, Mariah spoke out about the feud in a radio interview and said the show was “the worst experience of my life."

“I’m not going to get into what it was. Let’s just say, I don’t think they had any intentions of us having a good experience through that show. Pitting two females against each other wasn’t cool.”

Neither Nicki nor Mariah returned for season 13.

American Idol scandals: The infamous Carey-Minaj feud

One of the most memorable and controversial panels of American Idol was Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj.

Mariah and Nicki butted heads so much on the show that it led fans to wonder if their feud was real.

TMZ obtained videos before the season started of Nicki and Mariah arguing, with Nicki claiming that she wanted to "shoot Mariah."

Nicki denied the claims.

During live shows, Nicki even told Mariah to "clean her ears out" after critiquing a contestant's performance.

American Idol scandals: Brittany Kerr and Jason Aldean

Season 11 contestant Brittany Kerr allegedly kissed country singer Jason Aldean when he was married.

TMZ obtained photos of Jason and the former contestant talking on a crowded bar patio area on The Sunset Strip in 2012.

They appeared to get very flirty with each other - hugging, touching, and kissing each other.

At the time, Jason was married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Ussery.

Brittany and Jason ended up getting married and now have four children together.

American Idol scandals: Text Gate

One of the biggest seasons in American Idol history was when Kris Allen and Adam Lambert made it to the final two.

The New York Times reported that the show's sponsor at the time, AT&T, provided fans of Kris with "free text messaging and tips" on how to "power-text" at two finale viewing parties.

AT&T reps gave fans phones, so they could send ten text messages to vote for Kris "at the touch of a button."

The Times claimed that this violated Idol's rules against bump voting.

This led fans to think that AT&T's blunder led to Kris' shocking win.

American Idol scandals: Corey Clark

Corey Clark was a contestant on season two of the show and was arrested in 2002 after police responded to a domestic disturbance.

Producers kicked Corey off the show leading him to file a petition at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for racial discrimination in 2013.

American Idol defended the decision claiming he was kicked off due to his arrest record.

After news of his arrest was made public, there were also claims that he had an affair with former judge, Paula Abdul.

During his deposition under oath relating to his lawsuit against E! Television Network, Corey claimed that he and Paula maintained a relationship during his time on the show.

Paula has denied the claims and Fox found no evidence to support Corey's story after hiring a law firm to look into it, according to Hollywood Life.

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