David Foster is feeling the wrath of his wife Katharine McPhee’s fans after a video resurfaced on social media in which he called her “fat.”
The outrageous clip, which was initially posted to TikTok in March 2023, was taken from a concert on the couple’s show in which Katharine, 40, recounted the first time she met her future husband, 74, when He appeared on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006.
The singer and actress, who came in second place that season, said in a self-deprecating moment onstage in the concert clip that she was “a little chubby” when David first met her.
But David went further than that when he turned to look at a photo of his wife (who had previously shared her skepticism about their 35-year age difference) from American Idol that was projected on the screen behind his piano.
“Oh yeah, you were fat,” she said nonchalantly to laughter from the audience.
Fans were outraged after David Foster, 74, called his wife Katharine McPhee “fat” in a TikTok video that resurfaced from one of his concerts and was posted in March 2023.
In the clip, Katharine described her first meeting with David on American Idol, more than a decade before they started dating, when he said she was “a little chubby”; seen in 2005
“I was a little chubby, okay? Just young,” Katharine replied, but many of her wife’s fans didn’t find David’s comment funny at all.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Katharine and David for comment.
But a prosecutor follow-up video Criticizing David’s line in the original video garnered many more likes and generated much more conversation on TikTok, where commenters seemed to be almost unanimous in strongly disapproving of David.
“This made my heart hurt,” another person shared. ‘This beautiful girl was NEVER fat. You don’t call your wife fat. Jokingly or seriously.
‘OMG I can’t believe he said that???’ another stunned user added.
Although a select few users suggested that David was just joking, that didn’t seem to matter to most.
‘Those comments are very hurtful. Listening to anyone leaves your partner. “No one should comment on anyone’s body ‘jokingly’ or not,” one person wrote.
Many people wondered if David could say worse things in private if he was willing to allegedly insult his wife in front of an audience.
“If he can say that in front of a crowd, imagine the insensitive comments he would make in private. Yolanda’s comments make some sense now,” one person wrote, referring to the composer’s ex-wife, Yolanda Hadid.
“Oh yes, you were fat,” she said nonchalantly to public laughter and outrage on social media.
Several users criticized him and wondered if he said even worse things to Katharine in private.
Some mentioned that Katharine had struggled with bulimia at various points in her life, including just a couple of years earlier when she was pregnant with their first child together.
Another person added: “That was horrible. If he can say that on stage, what does he say at home?”
“That was horrible of him!” another user agreed.
Several users brought up Katharine’s previously stated battles with eating disorders as context for why they believed her husband’s comment was so hurtful.
In 2006, shortly after finishing her stint on American Idol, she revealed that she had struggled with bulimia in the past.
However, after winning a spot on the reality series, she decided to seek treatment for her condition.
However, that wasn’t the end of her struggles with eating disorders. While pregnant with her first child with David — Rennie David, now three years old — Katharine had to deal with new eating issues.
She said in Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast that she was concerned that the intense hunger and cravings she began to experience — a normal experience for many pregnant women — could be the same desire to overeat that she felt during her most intense struggles with bulimia.
However, Katharine revealed that she began seeing the psychiatrist she had previously seen during her days on American Idol, and was informed that it was common for women who struggled with bulimia to relapse if they became pregnant.
Although some viewers of the clip on social media suggested David was joking, there did not appear to be any commentators considering the line may have been planned in advance.
It’s unclear whether David’s comment may have been planned or part of a joke for the show. DailyMail.com contacted the couple’s representatives; photographed in April in Scottsdale, Arizona
Despite meeting on the fifth season of American Idol, they didn’t start dating until 2017. They married in 2019 and welcomed a son, three-year-old Rennie David, in 2021.
It’s unclear if Katharine or David ever repeated the exchange about their weight in another show, but it’s not uncommon for acts to plan or write seemingly “off-the-cuff” jokes to create more natural-sounding interactions and avoid awkward moments.
People reacting to the resurfaced clip seemed to assume that David’s “fat” comment was a genuine statement of his opinion, and negative responses to the video spread to other social media platforms.
Despite meeting on American Idol, it wasn’t until 2017 that Katharine started dating someone.
The lovebirds tied the knot in 2019 and welcomed Rennie David in February 2021.