'American Idol' Luke Bryan Comes To Carrie Underwood's Defense

The judges on American Idol help determine who will be each season’s winner. However, there are times when they themselves have gotten a bit of criticism. Recently, Luke Bryan came to the defense of his co-star, Carrie Underwood, after she received backlash during an episode of the show.

Carrie Underwood Has Worked Alongside Luke Bryan & Lionel Richie Since Season 23

Underwood originally became part of the American Idol franchise when she won the series’ fourth season in 2005. However, she made her return to the show in 2025 as a new judge, taking over for Katy Perry.

For his part, Bryan joined as a judge in 2018. He and Underwood have worked alongside Lionel Richie as judges for the past few seasons, with the show currently running Season 24.

Carrie Underwood YouTube — Carrie Underwood – YouTube

The judges themselves haven’t always gotten the best reception on the show. Back in March, Underwood could be heard getting booed by fans. At the time, this was in response to Underwood questioning a contestant wanting to perform an original song during “Hollywood Week in Music City – Part 2.”

However, Underwood still had somebody close in her corner. Bryan came to her defense during a recent episode of the show’s official companion podcast, which is hosted by Danielle Fishel.

Bryan Also Came To Underwood’s Defense During The Moment In Question

Speaking with Fishel, Underwood herself addressed the backlash, saying that she was just being honest. As she shared, “I don’t care. I can’t lie, I’m a terrible liar. As a fan of the show, if there was ever somebody that kind of had an off night and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s so great,’ I’m sitting at home being like, ‘What? Liars!'”

Despite this, Bryan still jumped to defend his co-star. He noted, “It’s tough to do as a judge.”

'American Idol' judges/Credit: YouTube — ‘American Idol’ judges/Credit: YouTube

As Bryan continued, he framed Underwood’s comments as necessary constructive criticism. He explained, “It takes a lot of confidence in yourself, and you don’t want to say something that’s going to tank them in the competition. It’s just something that they need to be thinking about if they go forward.”

Notably, Bryan also appeared to come to Underwood’s defense when the moment in question happened back in March. When fans started to boo her during the episode, Bryan addressed the crowd to say that Underwood knew what she was doing, since she had both been an American Idol contestant and won. He proclaimed, “She only won this. She knows.”

What do you think of Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood’s recent shares? Are you keeping up with Season 24 of American Idol? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest reality TV and celebrity news.