EXCLUSIVE: Carrie Underwood 'Holding American Idol Hostage' by Dithering Over Signing New Deal Unless They Show Her the Money
Carrie Underwood is being accused of holding 'American Idol' bosses to ransom with her sky-high salary demand.
June 14 2025, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Songbird Carrie Underwood has had a rollercoaster first season hosting American Idol and RadarOnline.com can reveal she's dragging her heels on signing a new deal – causing her bosses to tear their hair out.
"She's not sure she wants to do another season," said a show insider. "If she does sign on again, there's talk she wants more money."
The country singer replaced longtime Idol judge Katy Perry, reportedly at half of Perry’s $25 million-a-year paycheck.
"Her salary is way lower than what Katy got, which doesn't really right. So, if she does stay, it's likely she'll be pushing to bring up her compensation to make it worth her while," said an insider.
Huge Money
Katy Perry's $25million 'Idol' salary casts a shadow over Carrie Underwood's contract talks.
But her "internal battle" over whether to stay or go is about way more than the bottom line, insisted a source.
"She got a lot of criticism and fan backlash, and she's not used to that. She's used to being adored and admired, so this has been a very tough adjustment for her."
According to the source, the 42-year-old hitmaker has let the top brass know she's on the fence – but they want an answer ASAP.
"It's not a good look to be kicking something this important to the side and taking too long to make a deal," said the source. "They want to know where they stand."
Lionel Richie has slammed Underwood for defending 'cute' but tone-deaf contestants.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, the Before He Cheats singer – who was launched to superstardom in 2005 thanks to American Idol – has been struggling with the emotional weight of the judging gig.
The soft-hearted beauty recently went online to complain about having to reject off-key contestants, posting: "Saying 'no' is the worsty worst worstest."
One Idol fan took to social media to call Underwood "blah and boring."
Even her fellow judge Lionel Richie has blasted her for being too soft, accusing her of defending untalented wannabes with corny comments like: "But he's so cute."
Producers are growing restless as Underwood stalls on her return to the show.
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Despite her "rough season," bosses are still willing to give her a chance, according to an insider.
"They still believe in her, but they don't want to be strung along," said the source.
"The feeling is that Carrie needs to tread carefully here and be reasonable, and people around her hope she doesn't resort to ultimatums to get a salary increase because that could be counterproductive."
