American Idol Fans Skeptical After Alyssa Raghu Blames Edit for Audition 'Hijack,' Offers Her Side of Story

20/03/2024 17:38

Former Top 8 'American Idol' contestant Alyssa Raghu has endured several days of negative publicity after she appeared to "hijack" her best friend Julia Davo's unsuccessful audition, scoring a golden ticket for herself -- now, she's blaming the edit and offering her truth.

Two days after her best friend Julia Davo's audition (that became her audition) went viral on American Idol, former (and returning) contestant Alyssa Raghu is setting the record straight on what she says really happened ... but fans still aren't sure they're buying it.

Raghu is also alleging that the show used manipulative editing techniques to make it appear as if she "went into the room with the intention of hijacking Julia's audition."

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In a new video posted to her social media accounts, Raghu claims that while "the episode portrays a narrative that pins two female friends against each other, seemingly for the sake of ratings and drama," that's not how it went down.

She also said the editing choice "perpetuates [the] harmful narrative of pinning women against each other." She argued, "I believe that had I been a male artist, this situation would have never been edited the same way."

In the six-minute video, which Raghu posted to her TikTok and Instagram accounts, she offers what she says really happened, as opposed to what the show presented during Sunday night's broadcast.

According to Raghu, Davo mentioned her name during the pre-audition process and it was the show's producers who invited her to be on set "as a guest." She then said that she was pulled unwittingly into the audition room.

"While I was standing outside during Julia's audition, a producer unexpectedly grabbed my hand, took my phone away from me, and said, 'Come with me now,'" Raghu said. "Confused but trusting, I followed her into the room."

She said she was greeted warmly by the judges, who relayed to her that Davo had not advanced to the Hollywood Week round of the competition and then asked how her own career had been going. Raghu previously competed in 2018 and 2019, making it to the Top 8 in the latter.

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"I mentioned to them that I've been working hard on improving my vocal abilities and recording a lot of music," Raghu said in her new video. "And I even asked them for advice on what to do next. The judges seemed genuinely interested in seeing how I had grown as an artist since my last appearance on the show."

"Seeing as how they were expressing this interest with me, not as an audition but as a way to demonstrate my progress and what I've learned throughout the years and get their feedback, I asked if I could sing for them just for giggles," Raghu continued.

She went on to note that she sang twice for the judges, once as seen on the show doing a Mariah Carey cover, and the second time on an original. She also said that it was her understanding "that anyone who is part of the live rounds is ineligible from ever auditioning again."

What she didn't address directly, though, was when she said to the judges, as seen in the episode, "I have never competed on the show as an adult, so I don't know if that's out of the question."

"Wait, what are you telling me? Are you telling me that you want to audition for this season?" Katy Perry responded. "Like six years later?"

"I know it's in your hands, but it's, like, why not?" Raghu replied to her. That certainly made it seem as if it was her who asked about the possibility of auditioning, though her version of the story was that she was working under a misconception that it would all help Davo.

She also claims that after her first song, Luke Bryan made the comment that maybe Davo could shadow her and learn from her in Hollywood, with Davo jumping in to say, "If I'm on the show, I could learn." At this point, Raghu and Davo were both saying please, while Perry walked off the panel, looking pretty uncomfortable with the whole thing.

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According to Raghu, Bryan's "shadow" comment came between her two songs, with her "baited here into assuming that my audition was not only for myself but rather to find a way for Julia to continue in this competition." She said she was stunned when it was still a no for her friend.

What fans saw was Raghu pleading for herself to Bryan after Perry said no and Lionel Richie said yes. "Luke, I would love this so much and I would love to be able to prove to Katy at the same time, if it's possible for ya," Raghu pleaded before he gave her a second yes.

"The reality is very far from all of this that happened," Raghu said of what aired on television. "The editors rearranged conversations and left out crucial details to create a false narrative of betrayal for the sake of controversy and ratings. As you can tell from this situation, negativity generates way more engagement than celebrating our real friendship."

On their way out, the show also showed a clip of Raghu offering to throw away her golden ticket. "That moment was important because we felt misled in this situation together. She's my best friend. If she asked me to do that right now, I would still throw away the ticket," Raghu said.

"Obviously, the show cut out the entire conversation and only left a quick clip, and they totally diminished what that moment really meant and how much I really care about Julia."

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Raghu concluded her message arguing that the show's "priority was to create dramatic moments for the sake of entertainment rather than focus on the artist's journey and growth." She further argued that if it did care about contestants, it would offer Davo a ticket, which is not how it works at all. That decision was already made, and Davo certainly wasn't the only contestant to hear no during the audition process.

"To the viewers, I really want to apologize for any confusion or misunderstandings caused by the way the show is edited," Raghu said. "It's important to understand and remember that reality TV prioritizes creating dramatic moments and narratives to attract viewers, even if it means distorting the truth."

"The producers and editors have the power to shape the story however they want and, unfortunately in this case, they chose to focus a false narrative of a conflict between two best friends," she added.

While Davo and Raghu both shared extensive clips from their time together on the show, Davo has not weighed in at all since the episode aired, nor has she commented on Raghu's response. TooFab has reached out to American Idol for comment on Raghu's latest video.

Fans, though, were immediate in their responses, with many wondering why Raghu appears to still be participating in the show if she feels this way. Many seem skeptical of her take, too, with one commenting, "Wow, way to back pedal. If any of this is truly how you felt then why are you still doing the show?"

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"okay…but if u know how 'twisted' it is then why still continue to proceed with it???" commented another. "regardless the situation is still messed up and u even accepting it knowing that this may have been ur besties opportunity is a sad decision none the less. ur so talented girl and u could have auditioned for the voice or something like you've had ur chances on idol."

Still another wrote, "Nope. YOU took the focus away from your friend and her one chance. And SHE is a much better friend than you are: of course she won't ask you to throw away the ticket. But you should. IF she really is your 'best friend.' You can share any explanation you want, but actions speak louder than words. How would you have felt if positions were reversed?"

Raghu had her supporters, too, with many applauding her "bravery and courage" in presenting her side of the story. "It's shameful how reality shows now edit everything for drama and ratings," wrote one follower on Instagram. "Thank you for bringing awareness and coming forward with the truth."

"Wow! I am so sorry that both of you had to go through that but it's honestly not your fault because you didn't know how it was gonna be edited you didn't know that they were gonna do what they did so it isn't your fault," wrote another. "They wanted to take the story to a different level And both of your friendship is incredibly incredible and keep it up because both of you are very talented but reality TV is reality TV, and they're gonna make stuff the way they want to make it for entertainment purposes."

New episodes of American Idol air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.