‘Our Country Has F*cking Failed Us!’ Katy Perry Breaks Down on ‘American Idol’ After Mass Shooting Survivor’s Audition

Katy Perry was outraged and in tears after hearing the backstory of an American Idol contestant who survived a school shooting.

On Saturday, the show aired the audition of Trey Louis, who introduced himself to Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie as a mattress salesman from Sante Fe, Texas. Louis impressed the judges with his rendition of “Stone” by Whiskey Myers, but as he explained why he wanted to be on the show, Louis shocked them by revealing he was a survivor of the 2018 Sante Fe High School shooting.

“In May 2018, a gunman walked into my school,” Louis said. “I was in Art Room One, and he shot up Art Room Two before he made his way to Art Room One. Lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed. And uh, it’s just really been negative, man. Santa Fe’s had a bad rap here since 2018.”

Louis’s story caused Perry to bury her face in her hands, and when she came back up, she exclaimed, “Our country has f*cking failed us!”

“Facts,” Louis agreed before Perry continued to declare, “This is not okay!”

“You should be singing here because you love music! Not because you had to go through that f*cking bullsh*t! You didn’t have to lose eight friends! I hope that you remind people that we have to change, because, you know what? I’m scared too,” Perry added.

“It’s terrible Katy,” Louis responded. “It’s horrible.”

Perry was comforted by her co-hosts, with Richie adding “we have tolerated this for so long. For too long.” The judges unanimously gave Louis a “yes,” and they hugged him as they welcomed him to the next round of auditions in Hollywood.

Watch above via ABC.