It feels like we have come a long way since Danny Noriega was publicly mocked on American Idol Season 7. After all, not only have gay rights leaped and bounded to a point where we saw the Defense of Marriage Act struck down, but the show itself has enjoyed a 180-degree makeover since Noriega was laughed at for his sexuality. We have a new executive producer, a new judging panel, and a series that has spent years being called old-fashioned trying to reinvent itself. But, based on Wednesday night’s episode of American Idol, not all that much has changed. Because Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr.’s treatment of Keith London’s “If I Were A Boy” performance was appalling.

The song choice was not, in fact, bizarre for Idol. Yet, when London hit the stage in 2014 during Hollywood week to perform a damn good version of Beyoncé’s hit, he was met with wide-mouthed stares from the judges, who simply could not fathom why London, a boy, would sing a song about if he were a boy.

London, of course, had a reason — and a valiant one at that.

"I had a really good reason for singing that song. I think it’s a general message for everyone not to judge anybody else because nobody knows where you started from."

The judges’ response? Lopez said she was “distracted by that,” and Connick summed up his opinion with a, “It doesn’t impress me. It is bizarre.”

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