According to Fox Television, comedienne and TV talk show host Ellen Degeneres will replace Paula Abdul as the 4th judge on American Idol.
Abdul walked off the show last month following a dispute with AI producers over her demands for a bigger cut of the show’s profits in her paycheck. The producers didn’t call her bluff and Abdul found herself outside in the cold.
“DeGeneres will sit alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi and offer her own unique perspective to the contestants throughout the competition,” Fox television said in a statement.
Degeneres will begin her stint as 4th judge after the audition rounds, which has been featuring temporary celebrity judges such as Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers and Victoria “Posh” Beckham.
“I’m going to have a day job and a night job,” DeGeneres said during a taping of her Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday when she made the surprise announcement.
I don’t watch AI at all, but it seems to me that Ellen cracking jokes will be an odd fit for the show.
