Ryan Seacrest Made An American Idol Gaffe For Maybe The First Time Ever, And Carrie Underwood Did Not Look Happy

As American Idol Season 23 continues on the 2025 TV schedule, more and more contestants are getting cut each week, making the competition all the more brutal. However, it seems some brutal moments mayve taken place off-screen ater Ryan Seacrest made a specific Idol gaffe for what may be the first time ever. And first-time judge Carrie Underwood, one of the most famous American Idol contestants of all time, did not look happy.

Monday’s first live show of the season was pretty exciting, as fans were able to see the contestants performing live after all the auditions and pre-taped rounds, meaning they're one step closer to finding out who will be this season’s American Idol. In all the excitement, though, longtime host Seacrest actually failed to mention Underwood after introducing Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Although Underwood’s reaction was not shown, an insider told The U.S. Sun that the new judge was allegedly furious:

After the moment happened, Carrie looked furious that it seemed like Ryan snubbed her, even if it wasn't intentional. …Her face, oh she was not happy and she looked embarrassed and awkward for a few minutes after that.

It’s unknown whether there’s anything going on between Seacrest and Underwood, but it’s possible that either he just forgot in the moment to mention the singer, or that his microphone just simply didn’t pick it up. Whatever the case may be, it appears she was not happy one bit over it, and she even apparently even commented on it to Luke Bryan as well. What I would give to be a fly on the wall for that brief conversation, which apparently went like this:

She leaned over and whispered something to Luke, who looked serious and wasn't smiling.

Even though it’s Carrie Underwood’s first season as a judge, she has proven that she has what it takes, especially when it comes to some big decisions she has to make. While things may be going well for her on-screen, there is no telling what is going on behind the scenes. Underwood and Seacrest go way back to when the Grammy winner was on American Idol’s fourth season, and it’s been great seeing them together again this season. But it’s hard to tell what this slip-up will do to their friendship and work relationship, whether intentional or not.

Meanwhile, American Idol is not the only job that has been giving Ryan Seacrest a hard time. He’s been hosting Wheel of Fortune since last fall following Pat Sajak’s retirement, and fans had strong opinions about his hosting gig. It also doesn’t help that Seacrest has made some fumbles, with people comparing him to how Sajak did things. It’s not so surprising, though, considering Sajak hosted Wheel for multiple decades, and it’s not easy to get used to a new host. For Vanna White, it's been an adjustment, and despite some bumps in the road, it seems she and Seacrest are doing well.

Ryan Seacrest has done a lot of hosting over the course of his career on top of American Idol and Wheel of Fortune, and even then, it would be expected for him to make a mistake or two. It’s hard to tell what really happened, and it should be interesting to see what vibes are like in these remaining episodes.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.