Carrie Underwood has found herself in the spotlight after fans of “American Idol” perceived her demeanor towards guest judge Nikki Glaser as frosty. The country music star, however, is setting the record straight.
During an interview on Sirius XM’s Highway Mornings with Cody Alan, Underwood, 43, addressed the online chatter, reassuring listeners that there’s no animosity between her and the 41-year-old comedian.
Cody Alan brought up the reactions from viewers who sensed tension between Underwood and Glaser, noting that sometimes people are just looking for drama where there is none.
“I’m like, ‘Do you know Carrie Underwood?’” Alan remarked. “She’s never going to be a mean person. They want to stir up a catfight over the smallest little thing.”
Recently, Underwood faced criticism for allegedly mocking a contestant’s appearance on the show. In response, she expressed her familiarity with such controversies but took the opportunity to praise Glaser, saying, “I thought Glaser was wonderful on the show.”
Underwood continued, “I think she did a fantastic job. It’s not easy to sit behind that desk and come up with constructive feedback. I feel she handled it beautifully. There’s no beef. I have no beef.”
Carrie Underwood’s perceived ‘cold vibe’ treatment toward guest judge Nikki Glaser last month didn’t sit well with American Idol fans, but she’s firing back now (pictured on May 1)
The country singer said there was ‘no beef’ between her and the 41-year-old comedian during a chat on Sirius XM’s Highway Mornings with Cody Alan on Tuesday
Glaser filled in as fourth judge for the show’s first-ever Taylor Swift-themed night on April 27.
Fans sensed that Underwood didn’t take kindly to having to sit next to Glaser, a self-professed superfan of Swift’s, and were convinced Underwood grimaced whenever the stand-up comic spoke.
‘Carrie cannot standddd Nikki lol,’ one fan wrote on Reddit, and another blasted: ‘Carrie hates Nikki Glaser.’
An American Idol watcher remarked on X: ‘The tension between Carrie and Nikki is KILLING me lmaoo.’
Someone on Facebook also shared: ‘Very obvious. Esp from Carrie. We have the extremes of 2 women. Carrie, no matter how talented, ever since I saw her on American idol, I pick up a really cold vibe.’
Underwood – who sat next to guest judge Jennifer Hudson the previous week – admitted it took time to get used to the ‘meanness online’ after she joined American Idol in early 2025 alongside fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan – some 20 years after she won the fourth season of the talent competition series.
‘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,’ she recalled.
Underwood, who is married to former NHL player Mike Fisher, 45, and mom to their two sons, Isaiah, 11, and Jacob, seven, feels it’s something everyone has faced at one time or another.
Fans sensed that Underwood didn’t take kindly to having to sit next to Glaser during the April 27 segment of American Idol
Fans were convinced Underwood grimaced whenever the stand-up comic spoke
Underwood admitted the ‘meanness online’ used to stress her after she first joined American Idol as judge – 20 years after winning the fourth season competition
The Before He Cheats singer sat next to last week’s guest judge Jennifer Hudson without incident, or so it seems
‘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,’ she went on.
‘And but then it’s now it’s so easy for them to see that. 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.’
She added: ‘I promise you someday you won’t care, but right now I know they do care.’
Earlier this year, fans slammed Underwood for seemingly making fun of a female contestant’s body by saying she ‘couldn’t stop looking at her baby knees.’
