Katharine McPhee Gets Called ‘Fat’ by Husband David Foster in Video – Fans React
Hit All the High Notes
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our American Idol Newsletter:
Fans are letting David Foster know how they feel after a video resurfaced online of the music executive referring to his wife, Katharine McPhee, as “fat” when she was a contestant on American Idol.
A video, which shows McPhee and Foster performing together on stage, recently went viral on social media due to a comment Foster made about his wife’s weight. In the clip, McPhee points to the jumbo screen behind them, showing a photo from when she competed on Idol in 2006.
“You may not know we met 17, almost 18 years ago when I was a little chubby and cheerful contestant on American Idol,” McPhee said, referencing how Foster was a mentor for the contestants during her season.
Reacting to the image, Foster, who was sitting at a grand piano, said, “Oh, yeah — you were fat.”
McPhee dropped her shoulders and looked shocked for a moment before explaining, “I was a little chubby, okay? I was just young.”
View this post on Instagram
While McPhee played off the comment, fans weren’t so willing to let Foster off the hook and took to social media to share their thoughts.
“She was NOT fat. But HE is an old cr33p,” wrote one Instagram commenter.
“David Foster would be a lonely man if he didn’t have any money,” said another.
“Well that was totally ignorant. Shallow little man. Without his money, did he think she would even look at him?” another added.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge also commented, simply writing, “NO!!”
Another added, “Bad enough she called herself chubby, but then I nearly threw my damn phone.”
“This made my heart hurt. This beautiful girl was NEVER fat. You don’t call your wife fat. As a joke or serious,” said one fan.
One commenter pointed out, “Not to mention, she’s been open about having an eating disorder at that time! This is awful.”
McPhee, who finished as runner-up on the fifth season of Idol, revealed shortly after the season that she’d secretly struggled with bulimia until finally seeking help after being picked for the talent show.
She began dating Foster in 2017 and became his fifth wife in June 2019. The couple welcomed a son, Rennie (3), in February 2021.
After giving birth, McPhee appeared on Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast and said how her pregnancy brought back “the body-issue stuff,” explaining, “You’re like, ‘Is this just the eating-disorder version of me or is this actually my body?’… Suddenly, the cues felt really different, and I didn’t know how to interpret them.”
As of writing, neither McPhee nor Foster have addressed the viral clip.
If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association at 1-800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741-741.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services