American Idol has had its fair share of awkward moments this season, but none can hold a candle to what happened during the show’s May 13 live episode. In an especially cringe-worthy 40 seconds, Ryan Seacrest, 43, most definitely didn’t realize the cameras were rolling again after a commercial break, and the audience was subject to a super “uncomfortable” exchange between him and Katy Perry, 33. While Katy pointedly declared “We’re back” as the cameras began to pan in, Ryan totally missed her cue, and proceeded to ask her about motherhood — WTF?
“Your mom’s pretty,” Ryan was caught telling Katy after she tried to signal to him that they were back on the air. “My mom? Well, I hope the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” the singer replied while winking at the camera — perhaps trying to alert Ryan once again that they were live. Still not getting the hint, Ryan continued. “You are too, but you’re not a mom,” he said. To which Katy responded, “Not yet.” And then Ryan made things SUPER weird.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked. Eeeek! Katy immediately blurted out, “What?!” while fellow judge Lionel Richie, 68, quietly said, “Don’t start.” Luke Bryan, 41, joined in too, jokingly saying, “I leaked it.” With that, Katy laughed and awkwardly looked at the camera, saying “Stop it.” After more uncomfortable laughter, Ryan clearly all of a sudden realizes that — wait — they were LIVE that entire time! Gasp! But as the show proceeded on as normal, Twitter could not get over the awkwardness of it all.
https://twitter.com/__Kim6611/status/995833835903303680
https://twitter.com/povpaul/status/995836707533742080
“Katy Perry literally had to tell ryan seacrest that the cameras were rolling and he continues to hit on her, asks if she’s a mom and says ‘you wanna talk about it??’ after she says no. what’s going on i’m uncomfortable,” one social media user tweeted soon after it all went down. Another wrote, “That… was creepy af from Ryan Seacrest. Did he know they were on air or…..?”
While some thought it could be a sign that Katy is expecting, others thought it pointed more towards Ryan wanting to father a baby with the singer. “That delay on @AmericanIdol when no one knew they were back so Ryan Seacrest asks Katy Perry if she’s a mom and if she wants him to help with that made me feel so uncomfortable. Is that an appropriate question? I don’t think so,” one person wrote.
Further still though, some Twitter users were convinced it was all planned out, and it was a joke that just failed to land. “I’ve worked on several shows, and it’s all extremely controlled, the countdown from commercials and on air time, so I think it was planned,” someone else tweeted. Either way, EVERYONE can agree the moment was beyond odd!