Nicki Minaj is the latest celebrity to reportedly be joining the judges panel on the upcoming 12th season of American Idol after both Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler announced they’d be leaving the show following last season. A couple of sources have confirmed the news, and while it may come as a surprise to most, she’d been eyeing the job for months!
“I’m not sure the deal is completely done yet, but yes, she is definitely doing it,” one insider reveals to Us Weekly. “A few more slight things to sign off on but it is happening.” A second source claims Nicki is “100% confirmed to judge American Idol.”
When Nicki arrives for her judge’s spot it won’t be her first appearance on A.I. — the 29-year-0ld rapper previously performed on the show and expressed her interest in judging at that point. In fact, she even asked, “J-Lo, can you scoot over a little bit?” At the time, J-Lo wasn’t amused. “I don’t know if there’s enough room for both of us,” she replied. (Although that could have been a reference to their famously generous backsides.)
Now that she’s reportedly nabbed the spot, Nicki’s going to be under FOX’s microscope and, unfortunately, she’s already been causing controversy with some not-so-Idol behavior. “I was in jeopardy of losing my voice entirely and needing surgery on my vocal chord,” she tweeted on Monday, explaining why she was canceling one of her appearances overseas.
When some followers were less than understanding, she snapped, “If u can’t understand that, your mother’s a WH*RE!!!!” and she didn’t stop there! Nicki continued on writing, “If u have anything negative to say to me, please #EatSh*tAndDie – I am human.”
Randy Jackson will be returning (although some reports indicate he will be taking on more of a mentoring role) and Mariah Carey has been confirmed to be joining him. “As a singer, songwriter and producer, it’s going to be fun and rewarding to help find new talent and give back with American Idol,” she said in a statement. “I can’t wait to channel my creative energy as a part of this show which is a massive global phenomenon.”
Nick Jonas and Pharrell Williams are also in talks to join the show.
Reps for both FOX and Nicki Minaj had no comment when contacted by Us Weekly.
