Here’s The Real Reason Why Katy Perry Was ‘Triggered’ On ‘American Idol’ This Week—Eek!

For last week’s episode of American Idol, the 3 judges— Katy Perry, 37, Lionel Richie, 72, and Luke Bryan, 45, selected songs for the remaining 11 contestants to perform. The catch was that the competing singers didn’t know which judge chose each song. Contestant Noah Thompson delivered a riveting performance of “Heartbreak Warfare” by John Mayer, and things got awkward after he assumed that Perry chose the ballad for him (remember when she and Mayer had a tumultuous on-and-off again romance for 2 years?!) Perry’s reaction, of course, was priceless.

The “When I’m Gone” hitmaker joked that she was “triggered” after Thompson told host Ryan Seacrest, 47, that he believed Perry selected the Mayer-penned track. “Katy, is that true?” Seacrest asked her after Thompson guessed that she picked the song. “Noah, I feel like you should Wikipedia me,” she joked, as fellow judges Richie and Bryan began laughing. “So it’s a big no?” Thompson asked.

If Thompson did look up Perry’s biography on Wikipedia (as she hilariously implied), he would have found out that she dated Mayer from 2012 to 2014, with the couple breaking up and getting back together numerous times before ultimately calling things off for good 7 years ago.

After the hilariously awkward moment, Bryan came forward and revealed that he selected the 2009 track by Mayer whereas Perry wanted Thompson to sing a song by John Denver. Later that evening in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Perry was all smiles and recovered from the comical incident, telling a reporter on the red carpet, “[Thompson] is only 20 years old and he’s got his own life and his own baby and his baby mama, you know. He’s busy, he don’t need to know my whole history and he sounded great.” She continued, “I’m just glad he is still continuing to challenge himself.”

She then spoke of her love for the contestants this season, adding, “I love them and I’m glad I make them feel safe and seen,” before calling herself “a bit of a stage mom” and explained that her goal is to “push these kids to show a card they’ve never given or challenge themselves.” Overall, it looks like Thompson’s latest challenge (apart from singing tracks of various genres) is studying up on Perry’s dating history!