First, she kissed a boy and he didn’t like it during the audition rounds on American Idol, now Katy Perry just made a contestant cry. The 33-year-old pop singer pulled a cruel prank during the show’s Hollywood Week as she told a girl group — consisting of members Britney Holmes, Lee Vasi, Gabbii Jones, and Crystal Alicea — one of them needed to volunteer themselves and go home as there were only three open slots left in the upcoming solo round.

Crystal, who struggled to vocally keep up with the rest of the members in rehearsal ahead of the group challenge, started sobbing and told the judges she would leave. Turns out, Katy was kidding.

So why was Crystal ready to take the fall? She said, “I said that because these girls helped me through everything when I was struggling… They were there for me, so I was willing to take that position.”

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One fan took to Twitter after the prank hit the air and wrote, “Did anyone else cry when crystal volunteered to go home? No? Just me? Ok… damn hormones. #AmericanIdol #CrystalAlicea” Another said, “What #CrystalAlicea did tonight on @AmericanIdol took incredible courage and heart. Inspiring!!! ❤️❤️#americanidol #realitytvv.”

katy perry makes contestant cry

And although Katy got Crystal’s tears flowing, she couldn’t agree more with what the fans had to say about her. She told the audience and the hopeful contestant, “Round of applause for her heart! Honey, I will never forget that.”

This isn’t the first crazy thing the American Idol judges have gotten themselves into on this season’s reboot, either. Aside from Katy planting a smooch on a contestant who had never been kissed before, Luke Bryan crashed a fan’s wedding near the audition venue in Savannah, GA. Third celebrity judge, Lionel Richie, has pretty much stayed out of the headlines, however, the season is far from over!