Girlie/Fame Pictures
Paula Abdul took to Twitter Tuesday night to tell her fans she will not return to American Idol. The past month or so has been full of a negotiation nightmare between the often loopy-yet-lovable former pop star and the executives of the multi-million dollar show. Just a few days ago Paula tweeted that she would not sign a contract with Fox until the deal was fair. There are reports that although she only made $2 million last season, and was offered a bit of a raise this season, she wouldn’t settler for anything less than $20 million. Apparently that “fair deal” wasn’t met, and Paula used Twitter to reveal her news:
“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1 become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month.”
Since the tweet officials told Radaronline that they are “saddened” by Abdul’s decision, despite the fact that it seems this was the outcome they wanted. While Ryan Seacrest had already signed a deal for $45 million and Simon Cowell’s offer in the works is supposedly a whopping $100 million, as of late July Paula had not even received a contract yet.
Simon and many of Paula’s twitter followers rallied for her return to the show, it seems that FOX was set on pressuring her to leave by offering a paltry sum, as well as signing a Paula “replacement’ Kara DioGuardi, who was a fourth judge last season. It must smart when the boys were offered such huge deals, and a new girl gets hired, presumably in your place. The truth is, Idol won’t be the same with Paula, she’s been with the show since the beginning and is part of it’s character. She’s no snarky commentator like Simon, but the show would be less interesting without her wacky behavior. Paula does have some other prospects despite the fact that the song she premiered earlier this year was a bust: she’s been offered a judging role on So You Think You Can Dance by producer Nigel Lythgoe.
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