After hiring Luke Bryan for American Idol, ABC is trying to avoid having an all-white panel

TMZ

The country star officially signed on to the ABC reboot of the hit reality show on Sunday, joining a judging panel with Katy Perry. According to Variety, Lionel Richie is no longer in the running and it’s unlikely other potential names like Charlie Puth and Keith Urban are joining the show. The reason, according to TMZ, is that ABC is in a “tug of war” with Idol's production company over racial diversity. TMZ says that while Fremantle wants Puth, ABC believes there should be racial diversity on the panel, with the network still hoping to land Richie.