American Idol shocked by backlash against 'exploitative' promotion of Claudia Conway: report

The producers of American Idol are considering taking the focus off contestant Claudia Conway after they faced accusations of exploiting her and her family's personal struggles for ratings.

The New York Post reports that network ABC is in "crisis mode" over the backlash to Conway's appearance on the show, which has also included appearances both parents George Conway and Kellyanne Conway.

Claudia Conway has been publicly feuding with her mother, a former White House counselor for President Donald Trump, for months, and the Post notes that "critics have claimed the show is using the Conways' strife to boost ratings, while a Variety article likened the appearance to 'malpractice.'"

One source tells the Post that the show is "rethinking how they are going to position Claudia and Kellyanne with promotion" after featuring them heavily in early marketing.

"They were big on putting Claudia in all of the promos, but now they are thinking of not putting as much focus on that… to not make as big a deal of her being on the show and focus on other contestants," the source explained.