Carrie Underwood Talks About The Evolution of Online Hate

A lot has changed since Carrie Underwood first competed on American Idol. Although her win on the show helped launch her career, she never forgot having to stand in front of Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell. Any fan of the show easily remembers Cowell and his ability to crush dreams with only a handful of words. While the style of judging has changed over the seasons, Underwood promised that the new contestants have to deal with something far worse than criticism – social media. 

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Speaking with Cody Alan on Sirius XM’s The Highway, Underwood recalled what American Idol was like during 2005. The format surrounding the competition hasn’t changed much, but the hitmaker pointed to the rise of the internet. “I mean, it’s evolved over time. My time on ‘American Idol,’ you know, we kind of had like message boards and things like that, and it was kind of the beginning of just meanness online, I guess. And I feel like they have to deal with so much more of that now.”

With American Idol growing a loyal fan base over the years, each episode was a topic of discussion on platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram. Having the power to write and say whatever they want, Underwood witnessed how cruel and mean some of the comments can be. “We just kind of are in a world right now where we forget that we’re watching human beings do things, you know, and it’s so easy to talk about that. But it’s now, it’s so easy for them to see that.”

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Carrie Underwood Warns Social Media Is No Longer “Water Cooler Chats”

Knowing how connected the contestants are to social media and their fans, there was no way to escape it. Underwood added, “It’s no longer like water cooler chats I never would have known about what people were talking about in school or whatever, and now you can just say it online. So, that’s a thing that everybody’s got to have to navigate.” 

When Underwood returned to American Idol as a judge, she found herself once again falling victim to the online hate. But thankfully, the years in the spotlight taught her to block out the negativity and focus on the positive.

For Underwood, the rise of social media changed the experience of fame for every new generation of performers. And while criticism may always be part of the entertainment industry, the singer hoped contestants remember to focus on their passion and less on comments. 

(Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation)