Katy Perry & ‘American Idol’ Replacement Carrie Underwood Reunite at Dolly Parton Tribute

It was a reunion of American Idol judges past and present at the CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton special on October 21. Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood were both in attendance to honor the country legend, who died in August, and they posed for a photo together on the red carpet.

Fans were quick to notice the seemingly awkward distance between the women. They held onto each other’s arms instead of getting too close, although Underwood’s ballgown was likely to blame for why Perry couldn’t bridge the literal gap.

“Katy looks like she doesn’t wanna be taking a picture with her I’m crine,” one person wrote on X. Someone else theorized, “Katy was forced to take this pic,” and another wrote, “She’s keeping her distance from whoever sang at Trump’s inauguration.”

A BTS video from the carpet showed the women posing separately before they were likely asked to take a photo together. Underwood laughed as she motioned for Perry to come around to her other side to avoid the train of her dress, but the gown seemingly still got in the way.

While there were a lot of cringe comments, though, some fans supported the meet-up, with one person tweeting, “Katy and Carrie celebrating Dolly Parton. This is so sweet.”

Underwood is about to head into her third season as a judge on American Idol alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. She took the seat over from Perry in 2024 after the “Firework” singer left the show to focus on her music career. Perry previously served as a judge for seven seasons with Bryan and Richie. The singing competition returns for its 25th season in 2027.

The tribute to Parton featured some of the biggest names in country music, including Reba McEntire, Ella Langley, Kelsea Ballerini, Brad Paisley, Lainey Wilson, and more.