Ellen DeGeneres Quits ‘American Idol’
There has been a HUGE shake-up on the Fox competitive TV series American Idol in just the past few hours … late yesterday, Ellen DeGeneres (the newest judge on the show) announced on her official Twitter profile that she has quit the show after just one season. Ellen broke the news on her Twitter profile and posted a link to a more lengthy explanation as to why she decided to quit the show, which you can read in full here:
Dim the lights…I’ve voted myself off American Idol. / A couple months ago, I let FOX and the “American Idol” producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me. 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. 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.
Wow. Ellen signed a multimillion dollar, multi-year deal to judge American Idol but had a clause that allowed her to leave the show if Simon Cowell ever left the show … now that she’s out after just one year, I understand that Fox will still have to pay her out of her contract. Additionally, it is being reported that the next newest judge Kara DioGuardi has been fired from the show! Apparently, Fox wants to go back to the 3 judge panel and has reportedly already hired all three judges … and you’ll never believe who they are. Find out, after the jump …
Sources connected with the “American Idol” negotiations tell TMZ Kara DioGuardi has judged her last contestant on “American Idol” — because she’s been fired. We’re told the show will be going back to a three-judge format and assuming all deals are finalized, the judge’s panel will consist of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. We’re told the only way Kara could get a reprieve is if the J-Lo deal falls apart — but we’re told that deal is done. Ellen DeGeneres announced earlier Thursday that she was leaving the show after just one season.
That’s right, AI has decided to keep Randy Jackson (for some UNGODLY reason) and has reportedly signed on both Jennifer Lopez (not a bad choice) and Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler (WTF?!). Except for J. Lo, none of this makes sense … at all. I’ve never been a big American Idol fan but all this bullshizz about the judges just shows exactly what is wrong with the show. Shouldn’t the focus of the show be on the unknown American Idols competing in the competition? A panel of judges made up of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler makes no sense to me at all … I couldn’t think of 3 more random people to judge any competition. Now that Ellen and Kara are out and these 3 stooges are in, Fox thinks they’ve got a winning plan in place to save their show? I’m not convinced. I wonder if they even considered bringing back Paula Abdul … her return makes the most sense to me but I guess the decision has already been made. Fox should announce the official line-up of judges on Monday … does any of this sound like good news to you?
Tags: Ellen DeGeneres
July 30th, 2010 at 7:28 am
First off, I’m glad Ellen is off – SHE made no sense to me. She’s not even in the music business. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez make sense to me, and I think are big enough characters that it may bump ratings up for the next season. I don’t think they have staying power though, and I predict this rotating judges thing to happen after most if not every season going forward.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Ugh, I didn’t watch the show this past season. I’m not sure if I’ll ever watch it again. I had read that perhaps Elton John, Paula Abdul and either Justing Timberlake or someone else other than him were possibilities (was it something you linked Trent?) and I would have been happy with those.
I agree, it should be about the contestants, however, the judges should be likable. I’m tired of Randy, can sometimes stand J.Lo and I am indiffirent about Steven Tyler (even though I love some Aerosmith songs :)).
July 30th, 2010 at 7:43 am
*I* thought I had heard on the radio yesterday that Jessica Simpson was going to be a new judge. That would make sense – she’s cute, young, fresh and she may not be the best singer but she does have the experience of coming up in the industry while young. I don’t know. I love the show but had a hard time watching it last year and by the time it was all said and done, I really didn’t give a crap who won. The show hasn’t been good since David Cook and Paula.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:43 am
@Darcy — I actually have no problem with Steven Tyler but it seems so odd to me that he would get the job when there are are so many other more notable names out there. The rotating judges will likely be the death of the show in the long run.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Trent, I’m assuming the Steven Tyler decision was based on the fact that more and more rock genre singers are making it on the show. Haven’t the judges been pop based singers/songwriters/producers up until now?
July 30th, 2010 at 8:19 am
@Mandy — You may have a point … I guess we’ll see how it all turns out.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:28 am
We stopped watching 2 years ago, just got sick of the horrible auditions week after week…
July 30th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Steven Tyler’s booked up through September 4th, since he’s on tour, although I guess it’s not impossible that he could miss auditions and roll in for the actual show come January.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:57 am
I bet this will up the ratings for a few episodes as people tune in to see how these people judge, but after that I bet they begin to crash. I’m curious, didn’t the auditions already started a week or two ago? Who was judging then?
July 30th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I think Elton John would have been the perfect choice to replace Simon, the only choice really if they wanted to possibly salvage the show… JLO is a good choice for sure, and I do think that if they brought Paula back that would have been a good choice, as well. I totally agree with you Trent, although there is nothing wrong at all with Steven Tyler… it just seems like a very odd choice in comparison to say Elton or even Justin Timberlake.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Hallelujah!!!!!!!! ADIOS KARA WE WONT MISS YOU
July 30th, 2010 at 9:06 am
When the show started, no one really new who Randy and Simon were, and Paula was a has-been-not-that-famous-anymore personality — and this worked, because the focus was on the contestants. Now with mega stars like JLo and Steven Tyler, it looks like the focus will be more on the judges, and probably not the best scenario. I guess we’ll see what happens.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:15 am
I actually heard that Jessica Simpson was being considered for the part as well as Chris Isaac. I haven’t heard that Steven Tyler is up for it at all. I’ll have to check with a friend who works for them (American Idol/SYTYCD) and get back.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I might actually watch AI if Chris Isaac were a judge.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:50 am
@CB — Chris Isaac makes more sense to me as a judge.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:16 am
none of this really matters, the minute the “x factor” starts, AI will be cancelled soon after! X factor will have simon cowell, allows groups and has a much bigger age range! AI won’t be able to compete, this will be the last season!
July 30th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I don’t care who the judges are – without Simon I think the show will have a very short life left, I will be very surprised if it continues.
And I don’t understand the appeal of JLO as a judge I mean – not a talented lady – at least when it comes to singing. Would rather see Jessica Simpson do it. Steven Tyler has years of experience in the rock industry so he makes sense as a choice. But JLO has been irrelvant for quite awhile now.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
I would probably watch it if Jessica Simpson was judging – america loves to watch her say ridiculous things! (and I find her rather endearing…is that wrong?)
July 30th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
@Kram – auditions have started but so far it has just been Ryan as there are several rounds including auditions for the producers before the celebrity judge round.
I’ll be curious to see who they end up choosing!
Love that Ellen had the Simon thing written into her contract – very smart move on her people’s part!
July 30th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@B – agree with u! i love jessica simpson! :D
July 31st, 2010 at 1:09 am
bring on jessica simpson!! she’s funny.