Nigel Lythgoe: Paula Abdul may still 'renegotiate' with 'American Idol'
Before fans get too excited about Paula Abdul "Cold-Hearted Snake" references/homages on "So You Think You Can Dance," judge Nigel Lythgoe warns that she may not officially be done with "American Idol" yet.
"I still don't know that she's going to leave 'Idol' ... but until 'Idol' goes on the air, there are always opportunities for renegotiation -- who knows what might happen?" Lythgoe tells reporters Thursday morning at the FOX press tour "SYTYCD" session in Pasadena, adding, "'Idol' is far bigger than any individual. It's had success all over the world with different judges. The format is what is successful."
Lythgoe took the stage before the network executives, however, and they were pretty definitive in saying that Abdul is done.
FOX Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice says the network making an offer that included a "substantial raise," but that she "chose not to return."
"It's something that very saddening to us," Rice says. "... We wanted her to return."
Mike Darnell, the head of FOX's unscripted division, also says that he's moving on with the assumption that Abdul is done, and said Lythgoe's statements "are just Nigel's opinion."
"Nigel, as you guys know by now, has his own opinions, and they can be very strong," Darnell says. "I'm certainly not going to speak for him."
"Idol" aside, though, Lythgoe confirms that "So You Think You Can Dance" is courting Abdul to be a guest on their panel.
"I don't know anyone who's had her experience of being a performer, a choreographer and a judge," says Lythgoe. "So absolutely we'll try to get her.
"I spoke to her yesterday morning... we didn't get into any discussion about her negotiations," he says. "['SYTYCD'] is in Vegas for Season 6 this weekend. She's coming out to meet me, and we're going to talk about what opportunities are out there."
If Abdul accepts, it would only be for a guest judge position only.
"Mary [Murphy] and I are the solid full-time judges," explains Lythgoe. "We have a rotating chair [for judges] , which I really like. I'm not a huge fan of four judges. It should never be about the judges. It should be about the talent up there. So I'm not talking about filling a third chair or a fourth chair."
-- Additional reporting by Rick Porter
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This has all been just a PR/Marketing stunt. Paula will be on AI 100% (unfortunately)
Are you serious? Paula Abdul is a complete mess. She struggles week after week to form a complete and logical sentence. She rambles on, until she forgets what she's talking about, and then just blurts out an adjective. She is very uncomfortable to watch, because she is embar***ing herself.
On top of that, her opinion is of the least value, since it's always positive. In what world is Paula Abdul qualified to judge people based on talent???
Idol totally slapped Paula with this 4th judge Kara and if Paula is done with Idol then so am I. Kara is not my cup of tea and the guys need Paula to balance their banter.
I certainly would miss Paula. She brings a human element to the show. So what if she's not always perfect? I loved her on the show and the contestants seemed to love her.
OK...here it is...I Paula goes - so do I. My family concurs...we will no longer watch American Idol if Paula is not a judge.
Paula slept with a contestant. Paula has no coherent critiques. Paula thought Idol would cave to her $ demands.
Paula is unemployed.
American idol and Paula both popular.... but why only Paula replace..
Paula Abdul is a complete mess. She needs to get herself together. She struggles every week to form a logical sentence. She rambles on and on and on, and forgets what her point actually was going to be. She is very uncomfortable to watch, and ends up embar***ing herself.
Paula's opinion always seems always positive even when it should be negative. If she was holding out for money, well guess what.. she got the boot. Now I can watch idol again. Kara was a great judge.
Nigel - are you out of your mind. Are you trying to lower the rating of your show...................
I hope Paula renegotiates and returns to Idol. It would be sad if she truly left. I'm not high on Kara simply because I'm not used to her yet. Ryan needs to give Paula some of his salary. But if there's no Paula, too bad. I'm still watching anyway!