Laine Hardy Divides 'American Idol' Fans as Some People Think He ‘Doesn’t Deserve It’

People may have voted him the “American Idol” but Laine Hardy has had the fans of the show  on social media in splits.

Hardy was announced the winner of the 17th season of the “American Idol” on May 19 but many followers of the show  seem to be disappointed with the decision.

Fans let their opinion be heard on social media, where many of them wrote about Hardy being a wrong choice as a winner.

A Twitter user announced, “He doesn’t deserve it. I’m sure he knows.” While another user added, “Seriously no excitement to his voice…”

Similarly, another criticism against Hardy’s selection as a winner was that he performed similar songs and dance each time, and that his ability was “one dimensional.”

Another Twitter user, Chris Drago, even claimed that there might have been some sort of “fix” in the winner selection. The user accused that the voting might have been rigged as “too many people that were clearly better [than] him kept getting mysteriously eliminated.”

However, Hardy also had his own share of supporters who cheered for his victory. In support of the decision, Twitter user Wilma Masoner argued that “voters got it right.”

Meanwhile, few other fans also supported the other finalist, Alejandro Aranda, claiming him to be more deserving and capable. “Alejandro is so much more talented,” wrote Rab, another Twitter user.

Ryan James, also tweeted that Aranda deserved to win “100 percent.” James went as far as to predict that Aranda would have a better career than Hardy.

Besides Aranda, finalist Madison VanDenburg also lost to Hardy after the show announced him as the latest American Idol.

A few heartbreaks are almost certain when the “American Idol” reaches its final stages. In season 16 as well, contestant Mario Donaldson failed to make it beyond top 14 despite being everyone’s favorite.  

Katy Perry echoed this view in an interview, stating, “It’s so difficult to play chess with people’s dreams. I do wish we could have American Idols, the show, but I think that America did a fantastic job at voting for this first live show.”