AN eliminated American Idol contestant broke down in tears off stage after Ryan Seacrest’s abrupt dismissal on live TV, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.

The long-running series aired its first live show of Season 24 on Monday, and numerous contestants were sent packing at the start of the two-hour broadcast.

Ryan Seacrest holding an "American Idol" card, standing in front of a blurry background of purple flowers.
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest awkwardly dismissed six contestants after their eliminations during Monday’s live show, a source exclusively told The U.S. SunCredit: ABC
 

Eliminated contestant Megan Danielle hugging judges while other American Idol contestants watch.
A source who attended the taping revealed to The U.S. Sun that 16-year-old contestant, Ruby Rae, was seen bursting into stairs offstage after her abrupt eliminationCredit: ABC
Fans at home watched six hopeful competitors get the boot in the beginning of the episode; however, only a portion of what actually happened was shown.

A source who attended the live show exclusively told The U.S. Sun that the eliminated singers looked so “uncomfortable” during the sudden axing, as they were essentially pushed aside in the abrupt elimination.

They noted that the competitors barely had a second to acknowledge they’d been eliminated before host Ryan pivoted to the Top 14 singers who did make the cut.

The insider said the entire scene was “disrespectful,” even more so after witnessing eliminated contestant, 16-year-old Ruby Rae, breaking down in tears off to the side, while cameras turned to the next segment.

The teenager was seen “wiping away tears and being consoled by another eliminated contestant” as cameras continued filming the rest of the show.

Makiyah, Genevieve Heyward, Kutter Bradley, Abayomi, and Madison Moon were the other competitors who were sent home.

This narrowed the pool down to 14, although they were supposed to cut it down to 12 remaining contestants.

Technical difficulties

For the entire episode, Ryan teased that they would reveal who made the Top 12; however, that didn’t happen after a massive technical glitch prevented them from gathering the voting figures in time.

“This is the first time this has ever happened,” Ryan told the audience about the shocking mishap.

A source at the taping exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that producers were “yelling and running around behind-the-scenes” throughout the episode.

People working on the show were also rushing from backstage to the judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, as well as Ryan.

They were said to have narrowly missed the cameras as they scrambled around the studio in a “chaotic” scene, though they were ultimately unable to get the results in time.

The episode ended without revealing the final two eliminations, leaving 14 contestants unsure where they stood in the competition.

Ryan blamed the issues on the “unprecedented number of votes,” but the insider told The U.S. Sun that technical problems were the cause.

They didn’t specify what exactly went wrong, leading to the massive on-air blunder.

The episode featured American Idol’s second-annual “Songs of Faith” night, in which the contestants performed faith-based songs during the live show.

It also included a special opening from judges Luke and Lionel, who sang Jesus Is Love with the contestants, and Carrie belted out How Great Thou Art in a solo performance.

Idol backlash

Carrie has received a lot of criticism since the American Idol Season 4 winner joined the judges’ panel last year.

Many fans have demanded that she be fired as a judge, and most recently called for Keke Palmer to replace her following the actress’s guest appearance in Hawaii.

American Idol’s first-ever winner, Kelly Clarkson, recently accused the show of “lying” about awarding its winners $1 million.

While speaking to The Traitors winner Rob Rausch on her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer claimed that she didn’t receive the $1 million payout she was promised.

Kelly also claimed she wasn’t gifted a new car, despite that being part of the deal.

American Idol airs weekly on Mondays at 8:00pm EST on ABC and is available to stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Four contestants stand on stage during a live TV show.
The contestants were narrowed down to 14 during Season 24’s first live showCredit: ABC
 

American Idol contestants standing on stage clapping.
They were supposed to be cut down to 12 remaining contestants, but production suffered ‘technical issues,’ an insider exclusively told The U.S. SunCredit: ABC
 

Ryan Seacrest, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan on the American Idol set.
Ryan hosts the show alongside the judges, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke BryanCredit: Getty