Some 'American Idol' fans are furious that Kellyanne Conway appeared on the show with her daughter Claudia
- Kellyanne Conway, the former Trump adviser, appeared on ABC's "American Idol" on Sunday.
- Conway appeared alongside her teen daughter, Claudia, who is a contestant on the show.
- The appearance drew backlash following Claudia's abuse allegations against her mom.
"American Idol" drew fierce criticism Sunday after it featured interactions between Kellyanne Conway and her daughter Claudia, who's a contestant on the show.
Kellyanne, who served as one of former President Donald Trump's top aides and staunchest defenders, appeared in segments of the ABC show, which the network rebooted in 2018 after a two-year hiatus after FOX canceled it after 15 seasons. Claudia's father, the anti-Trump conservative columnist and lawyer George Conway, had accompanied Claudia to her audition last year in an episode that aired in February.
The younger Conway's appearance on the show had already drawn backlash, as Yahoo Music reported. Her presence on "Idol" led viewers to accuse the network of exploiting her public family drama to gain viewers. According to the report, clips of Claudia used in promos for the show never aired after backlash following her first appearance.
Page Six reported the show entered "crisis mode" last month following the criticism of the February episode.
In the Sunday episode, the elder Conway accompanied Claudia, 16, to "Hollywood Week," the second stage of the reality competition. Kellyanne watched on from the audience as her daughter sang a cover of "River" by Bishop Briggs.
After "Idol" judge Katy Perry informed Claudia she had made it to the next round of the competition, Claudia and her mother embraced in a hug while Kellyanne briefly sang Alicia Key's 2012 hit "Girl on Fire."
But "Idol" viewers and others familiar with the Conways noted the appearance follows months of public drama between the 16-year-old and her 54-year-old mother, and criticized the show for including Kellyanne.
Representatives for ABC did not immediately return Insider's request for comment Monday.
Conway went viral in 2020 for speaking out against Trump
Conway burst on the scene less than a year ago when she went viral on TikTok for making videos that criticized the Trump administration and supported left-wing causes, such as Black Lives Matter.
At the time, Conway told Insider that she respected both of her parents, calling them "the most generous, well-educated people," despite her political differences with them.
But in the months that followed her ascent to social-media fame, the public relationship between the Conways soured, as Claudia on social media said her mother had been "physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive," as Vox reported.
In an August 2020 TikTok video, Conway said she'd been involved in "non-stop CPS investigations" last year after alleging abuse from her parents. Insider was not able to verify the accusations.
In October 2020, Kellyanne tweeted that her daughter "has access to top doctors & health care & lives comfortably" but "speculates on social media."
In January, police became involved when Kellyanne Conway was accused of sharing nude photos of Claudia on Twitter Fleets, though it was unclear if the quickly deleted photos were shared by Conway purposefully, accidentally, or by someone else entirely.
The incident occurred just days after Claudia posted and deleted TikTok videos that appeared to show her mother yelling and swearing at her, and at one point, appearing to take a swipe at her.
"In terms of what can be done, there's nothing that can really be done. I've tried everything," Claudia said in a video explaining the clips. "My parents are too powerful and nothing happens. I'm probably going to get in a lot of trouble for this. I just want everyone in the world watching this to know that I'm not lying at all. I wouldn't lie about anything like this."