Scandals That Led To Carrie Underwood's Massive Downfall From Fame

If you're a longtime "American Idol" fan, you're no doubt all too familiar with the supposed "curse" that dictates the winner of each season is doomed to a career of mediocrity after the fact. Evidently, though, Carrie Underwood had some countermeasures in place, as hers continued to thrive following the country singer's Season 4 win, back in 2005. Since then, Underwood's songs have regularly topped the country charts, and she's added no fewer than eight Grammys to her shelf and counting. But, like most celebrities, Underwood hasn't been immune to controversy over the course of her time in the spotlight. 

And while she's largely managed to sidestep any significant career damage, it seems that those perceived scandals are finally starting to catch up with her as far as public opinion is concerned. In 2025, Underwood returned to "American Idol," the show that made her a star in the first place, this time as a judge. But as she revealed in a February 2026 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the live audience didn't always give her the warmest reception, especially when it came to shooting the "Hollywood Week" portion of Season 24. "Spoiler alert...I get booed A LOT from our Hollywood Week audience," she wrote. 

While many fans came to Underwood's defense in the comments, others giddily expressed feelings of schadenfreude. "And it's still not loud enough," one such user wrote. "Here let me help... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," another quipped. But just what is it that has people turning on Underwood in the house that she helped build? Well, while all signs point to one controversy, in particular, being the primary source of the backlash, there have actually been a few notable incidents that contributed to the "Before He Cheats" hitmaker's apparent fall from grace, as well.

In what could arguably be seen as a precursor to some of her more recent political backlash, Carrie Underwood drew the ire of social media in 2021 when fans noticed that she had liked a post from right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh decrying the implementation of mask mandates for schoolchildren in an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The online response to this revelation was swift. Mind you, some took a rather humorous approach when it came to pushing back on the "Jesus, Take the Wheel" singer for seemingly co-signing dangerous anti-mask rhetoric. "Not at all shocked by Carrie Underwood being anti-mask! This is the girl who asked JESUS CHRIST (a famously dead person from a time pre-automobile) to drive the car for her!!!" one X user snarked. 

Others were considerably more blunt. "It's not just that Carrie Underwood liked an anti-mask tweet, it's that it was from one of the most racist, misogynistic, downright toxic men on this hell site. I don't care if she's conservative, that's hardly a surprise. It's the tacit endorsement of the worst of the movement," another user posted. Around that same time, the Grammy winner also came under fire after her husband, Mike Fisher, defended NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers' anti-vaccine rhetoric in an Instagram post that was later liked by Underwood herself. As one user on X remarked, "The breakneck speed Carrie Underwood has gone from Princess of Country to all out anti-vax, anti-mask conservative is truly breathtaking. Jesus truly needs to take the wheel away from this woman." 

Carrie Underwood's first season as an "American Idol" judge resulted in yet another hit to the country star's reputation, with Underwood's apparent diva behavior at the finale prompting another round of social media backlash. It all started when gospel and R&B singer Jamal Roberts was crowned the winner of Season 23, in 2025. Fans couldn't help but notice that while Luke Bryant and Lionel Richie quickly rose to their feet to celebrate Roberts' victory, their fellow judge was rather slow to get up — and seemed far less enthusiastic than the rest of the panel to boot. Some fans even speculated that the only reason the "Good Girl" hitmaker bothered to stand at all was because the show's producers made her. "Not Carrie Underwood sitting down and probably being told to stand up when Jamal won," one X user penned.

To her credit, Underwood later took to Instagram to share a photo with Roberts and congratulate him on his win. Judging by the comments section, however, certain viewers saw this as nothing more than damage control on her part. "Don't do the media cleanup now. You clearly snubbed him and that is not what a judge and a seasoned professional is supposed to do," one such user criticized. "You didn't want him to win," another wrote. Additional commenters remarked on the body language on display, with some suggesting that Underwood's smile looked forced. Others pointed out that while his arm was around her, Roberts was pulling the old hover hand maneuver.

All that said, Roberts himself downplayed the drama sometime after the fact, casually reasoning, "I don't think she likes every genre for real. She had her picks [...] and she stuck with it," (via X).

By far the biggest controversy that has damaged Carrie Underwood's star power to date was her decision to perform at Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration in January 2025. After all, it prompted backlash from not only random social media users, but some of Underwood's biggest stars too. For example, while the ladies of "The View" were not unanimously against Underwood accepting the high-profile gig, the criticism from vocal Trump critic Joy Behar, in particular, caused such a stir that it reportedly prompted ABC (which also airs "American Idol") to tell the panel to cool it. "Carrie Underwood is a ratings magnet, and ABC knows they can't afford to alienate her massive fanbase," a source told Knewz.com in January 2025. 

Around the same time, Underwood issued a statement to People in which she defended her decision to perform by appealing to "unity," though she's largely remained mum throughout Trump's second term. To that end, judging by other reports, the Grammy winner is more than happy to bite her tongue. Underwood was afraid to directly clap back after "General Hospital" star Nancy Lee Grahn shaded her, according to a January 2026 article from the Daily Mail, as the last thing she wanted was to draw more attention to the matter. "She received a huge backlash over the Trump inauguration," an insider divulged, continuing, "She weathered that storm and was able to get through it relatively unscathed." 

However, considering that her reputation has evidently soured to the point where she's being audibly booed on the very same show that made her a household name in the first place, the increasingly negative public perception of Underwood isn't going away.