Finally, American Idol is playing it smart. After Simon stated he was going to leave, we just found out that Ellen slid out now too. Ellen stated that she could no longer do the show because of scheduling conflicts and that she could not be mean to contestants. In all reality it was probably her scheduling, I mean she is the most famous person on that panel. She was hilarious and kept the show alive too.
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who became a full-time judge on the show during its ninth season, is bowing out of the series, PEOPLE has learned.
“A couple months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” she says in a statement. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.”
DeGeneres adds, “I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had, I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”
In the same statement, Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller says, “I loved Ellen’s passion for the artists and her nurturing skills. She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly.”Peter Rice, the FOX entertainment chairman, says, “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol. We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.”
A longtime fan of Idol, DeGeneres signed on to replace Paula Abdul after Abdul Tweeted about her departure in August 2009. “I’m going to have a day job and a night job,” DeGeneres said at the time. “This is exciting for me.”
In January, Cowell announced he was leaving to concentrate on bringing his U.K. hit The X Factor to the U.S
Now here is the great part. American Idol has decided since Simon and Ellen are gone, maybe we should just start all over. So, they kick Kara DioGuardi’s ass out of there. Kara did not volunteer to leave like Ellen, her ass was fired. Kara was by far the worse and annoying judge on the show. The show is now returning with just three judges.
So who is going to judge? Well American Idol finally realized that maybe, just maybe we should put some people who have singing talent and know what they are doing in the judges panel. So who do they get. Jennifer Lopez and the one and only Steven Tyler. Yes, Aerosmith front man himself.
Deadline Hollywood reported:
We’ve just learned the backstory of how Ellen DeGeneres bowed out of American Idol and who will be the new judge taking her place. It’s Jennifer Lopez, whose singing and acting career has been on the skids after her recent movie failed at the box office in the spring and she was dropped by her record company Sony Music Epic Records this past winter. We hear her manager Benny Medina (whom she once fired) orchestrated the meeting with the American Idol producers a month ago, and negotiations have been ongoing ever since. We’ve learned a deal was closed earlier this week under the utmost secrecy. Today’s news came shortly after Nigel Lythgoe returned to Idol as an executive producer. He has vowed to shake up the show’s team of judges in the wake of the departure of Simon Cowell, publicly stating that he always thought a panel of three and not 4 made the most sense.
Still to be decided is who will replace Simon Cowell. Everyone associated with the show wants Elton John, but we hear he’s asking for too much money and has too many touring commitments he can’t get out of.
2ND UPDATE: Tonight, unconfirmed reports say Idol has offered Cowell’s judge seat to Steven Tyler. 3RD UPDATE: And another unconfirmed report claimed judge Kara DioGuardi has been fired to bring the panel count down to just 3, not 4.
As for Ellen Degeneres, we’re told she wanted off the show two months ago and complained that Idol producers “couldn’t control Cowell”, one insider tells us. Least of all Cecile Frot-Coutaz, the CEO of FremantleMedia North America. “Cecile is doing X Factor with Simon, so she’s in his back pocket.” DeGeneres and her reps went in to to see Fox Broadcasting’s Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice and Alternative TV President Mike Darnell and asked to be let out of the year left on her contract. “She’s not comfortable. She’s not happy. It’s not been fun,” Fox was told. But Rice and Darnell responded that, with Cowell leaving, “We can’t let you out now because it would be bad for our franchise. Give us a chance to figure out who we could get.” In the end, all the show’s producers — Fox, Fremantle, and 19 Entertainment — worked it out. “Peter Rice was awesome,” an insider tells us. “Ellen is thrilled and relieved.” We’ve learned that serious conversations took place between Idol and Jessica Simpson to replace Ellen. But once Jennifer Lopez was locked in this week, the DeGeneres announcement went out.
…Her replacement JLo badly needs this high-profile boost to her flagging career. The actress had many hits with Sony Music Epic Records, so it was a shock within the recording industry when her longtime label dumped her.
So which one of these three judges are going to be the mean one? You know it won’t be Randy. Hell, maybe American Idol might kick his ass out too. I mean all he has ever done is play keyboard and a few things with Mariah Carey and other singers. I can see JLO being a bitch, and Steven Tyler doesn’t seem like he talks to much.
Afternoon Delight
- Levi Johnston is now only one of three possible daddies of some slut–celebitchy
- Lady Gaga in Vanity Fair, looks terrible–dlisted
- Sandra Bullock wants removed from her Gulf PSA–Eonline
- Tom Welling sure knows what he is doing when producing the Hellcats, look at those butts–Egotastic
- Daniel Radlciffe gets stoned and drunk for birthday–JustJared
