'American Idol' Contestant Alyssa Raghu Slams Producers for Pitting Her Against Best Friend Julia Davo, Claims Audition Was Heavily Edited

Alyssa Raghu is speaking out in a six-minute video to slam producers of American Idol for pitting her against best friend Julia Davo and making it appear as if she “stole” her friend’s audition.

For those who don’t know, Alyssa made it to the Top 8 on American Idol season 17 back in 2019. It was her second time auditioning for the show and now she’s going to appear on the competition again.

Alyssa showed up to support her friend Julia at her audition for 2024′s season 22 and went into the audition room to say hello to the judges. Even though Julia didn’t make it to the next round, Alyssa asked the judges if she could sing for them.

“I know you said my voice was going to grow until it was 21, and you said that when I was 15. But just for giggles, I’d love to sing you something,” she said to them.

After singing Mariah Carey‘s “My All” and impressing the judges, Alyssa implied that she would like to compete on the new season and the judges decided to allow her to go to Hollywood again. Contestants are usually not eligible to compete again if they make it to the live shows, but it looks like the judges decided to change the rules.

Julia then pleaded with the judges to send her to Hollywood too, but they wouldn’t. Fans have since accused Alyssa of hijacking her best friend’s audition for her own gain. Now, she’s speaking out to clarify what actually happened.

Keep reading to find out more…

You can watch the full audition above.

Alyssa released a six-minute video on TikTok in which she explained the “truth.”

“As you may have seen, the episode portrays a narrative that pins two female friends against each other, seemingly for the sake of ratings and drama. It’s really disappointing, honestly, to see that the show decided to go this route with their edit rather than showcasing how supportive and collaborative our friendship has always been,” Alyssa said. “This situation perpetuates harmful narrative of pinning women against each other. I believe that had I been a male artist, this situation would have never been edited the same way.”

“Julia is an incredible artist and always has been and she’s honestly one of the most talent people that I know,” Alyssa said.

She added that “during Julia‘s pre-audition process, she mentioned my name to the producers and they were the ones who invited me to come to set as a guest.”

Alyssa said that she and Julia discussed beforehand that she would prepare a song in advance just in case the judges asked her to perform as an “alumni.” However, “the episode was edited to make it seem like I went into the room with the intention of hijacking Julia‘s audition and took her golden ticket when there was in fact enough tickets to go around and for her to absolutely have one.”

“The reality is very far from all of this that happened. The editors rearranged conversations and left out crucial details to create a false narrative of betrayal for the sake of controversy and ratings,” Alyssa said.

Alyssa also walked fans through a reenactment of what happened the day of the audition. She claims a producer surprised her by dragging her into the audition room without telling her what was going on. Watch the video below for all the other details.

Alyssa says the producers cut footage of her pleading with the judges to bring Julia to Hollywood as well.

“As Julia and I were walking off the stage, I turned to her and said, ‘You want me to throw it away? I’ll throw it away.’ 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,” she 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.”

She added, “If American Idol truly valued and cared about their contestants, they would extend an invitation to Julia, who deserves to be on the show right now more than anyone else.”

One of the judges has confirmed they will leave the show after this season.