American Idol execs fearing 'boycott' over Carrie Underwood's inauguration performance

American Idol executives fear boycott over Carrie Underwood's inauguration performance. American Idol producers and cast are all reportedly concerned that the show will face serious consequences in the upcoming season over new judge Carrie Underwood's decision to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration. The singer was announced to be performing at the January 20 event, which will swear Donald Trump into office for a second term as the 47th president of the United States, something she shared she was honored to be doing. While she has allegedly said she doesn't care about backlash, fans have already threatened to skip the newest season of the show, the first which features the season 4 winner as a judge, because of it. That now taps into fears that he co-judges Luke Bryan and Leonel Richie, and show host Ryan Seacrest, have about the show's future. According to the U.S. Sun, they and producers are all not happy with her announcement and plans because it is forcing them to be part of a political conversation. I don't think anyone at the show knew about Carrie singing at the inauguration ahead of it coming out. It caught them all off guard, a source told the publication. It doesn't conflict with any of her idol taping dates, and it is before this season airs, so it doesn't go against anything in her contract. But there are producers that don't approve and are worried. Producers are allegedly concerned about the boycott talk because they don't want the show to get political and instead serve as an escape for viewers. The source said that sentiment is also being shared by Seacrest, Bryan and Richie. Ryan, Luke and Leonel won't be happy either because they will inevitably also get asked about it in some interview at some point, and that's not a topic they want to be sucked into, the source said. Overall the producers are not happy and figuring out how to move forward to be able to respond best when it gets brought up again during the season airing, they continued. Again, the goal is to focus on the entertainment and the music and stay away from the politics. Despite the concerns, the show isn't planning to fire Underwood.