Crushable » paula abdul contract

Michael Johns Speaks Up for Paula Abdul

Jeanne — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:39:16 +0000

Michael Johns has become a good friend of Paula Abdul’s since his time on American Idol and he’s weighed in on her departure from the show. According to E! Online, Johns said: "She’s not asking for what [Ryan] Seacrest is getting paid. She’s asking for $20 million over three years, so I think she totally deserves that money. She’s a huge reason people tune in to the show…I think Fox should pull their finger out and pay her what she deserves."

Apparently, she confided all of this to Johns who seems more than happy to spill the beans. If what he says is true, then I’d have to agree with him – I think $20 million over three years is fair for Paula.

He continued by saying: "We talk all the time. She was a bit upset. She just doesn’t understand why Fox made the decision they made—especially when a lot of people got upgrades in money. But she said, ‘Look I’m not going to budge on this. I really think that’s my worth.’ "

He also shared some insight on who could be a good replacement for his dear friend, Paula. "I think Chelsea Handler would be pretty funny," he said. "Chelsea would be my first pick."

I don’t know if Chelsea would be a good fit for the show. Yes, she’s smart and funny and very entertaining but I don’t know if she could say anything truly positive. Besides, what does she really know about the music industry?

Also, I know this has nothing to do with Paula’s contract negotiations but what do you think of the judges becoming friends with former contestants? I guess there’s nothing in their contracts that prevents that but I do think it’s a little strange, especially if she’s going to confide information about her dealings with the show with these former Idol contenders. How do you feel about it?

image © FOX BROADCASTING CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX

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Ryan Seacrest “Stunned” By Paula’s Departure

Jeanne — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:01:03 +0000

If Paula Abdul had planned to quit American Idol, she definitely didn’t let co-worker, Ryan Seacrest, know about it. On his radio show this morning, he said the following: “The news stunned me last night. I was shocked… She’s a dear friend. I love her to death and am really sad that it came to fruition. I’m just bummed because we’ve worked together for so many years. It’s sad.”

I speculated that it might be a stunt to pressure the Idol bosses into giving in to her contract demands. Apparently, people are asking Ryan the same thing. He said “everyone that I’ve passed today here has asked is it true? Is it a publicity stunt? As far as I know, it’s real. At this point she’s decided to leave.”

Would he be happy if she changed her mind? “I would love that,” he said. “I think that would be fantastic for all of us. That would be great… Obviously she has her reasons for doing it and if she didn’t feel like she was getting what she needed, I understand that too.”

His message to her? “Paula, please go back to Idol,” she said. “It would mean the world to me.”

Awwww! Who knew that Ryan could be so sweet? For what it’s worth, I hope she does return to the show. It just will not be the same without her!

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Paula Abdul Tweets “I’ve Decided Not to Return” to American Idol

Jeanne — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:21:11 +0000

American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, put up some interesting (and possibly sad) Twitter updates.

Tweet #1 – 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..Cont’d…

Tweet #2 – I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon.

Tweet #3 – What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me

Tweet #4 – It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month

Tweet #5 – I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all.

This could, of course, all be part of a ploy to scare the producers into giving her a better deal. If it is true, I’m going to be really sad. They’ve renewed Kara DioGuardi’s contract so maybe they had planned to push Paula out? Whatever the case, I don’t think that Paula should leave. Sure, there’s been lots of speculation over her possible departure but I thought execs said she could stay on the show “however long it lasts.”

This is the second judge in as many days to leave an Idol show (Kyle Sandilands was fired from Australian Idol). What do you think?

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Are Paula Abdul’s “American Idol” Days Coming to an End?

Jeanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:16:00 +0000

I tend to avoid all the gossip and speculative posts about contract negotiations since nothing is final and we really don’t know what is happening. I do, however, take it a little more seriously when someone representing one of the parties makes a statement.

On the LA Times blog, they reported that Paula Abdul’s manager, David Sonenberg, had the following to say: "Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol.’ I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual; I think unnecessarily hurtful. I find it kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful that they haven’t stepped up and said what they want to do."

He goes on to say that he has "reached out to the head of business affairs at 19" and told Fox that "Paula would love to be on the show” but has “not received any proposal whatsoever."

Sonenberg continues his verbal diarrhea by adding: "She’s not a happy camper as a result of what’s going on. She’s hurt. She’s angry. I think at this point we’re going to be considering everything, including some kind of a competition show. She has tremendous ideas for a whole variety of shows."

First of all, I think this guy could be getting overly dramatic for nothing. I realize that Fox is really going down to the wire here and American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest, has been given a mammoth deal but surely he has some hope that this show would not go on without Paula. Especially after Fox publicly said that she can stay on for “however long it [the show] lasts.”

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Paula Abdul Can Stay on American Idol “However Long It Lasts”

Jeanne — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:29:00 +0000

American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, has been invited to stay on the show. According to People.com, Abdul said: “I’ve been invited to stay the duration of the show, however long it lasts.”

She described their little group as a “dysfunctional family of sorts” and added that she is “the nurturing mom, Simon [Cowell]’s the disapproving dad, and Randy [Jackson]’s the cool brother. It’s been an interesting journey. It’s something that I’ll always would want to be a part of.”

While details about an actually renewed contract have yet to emerge, I do think this is a positive sign that the judging panel will not be too different from last year. I think that Paula should remain with this show until it’s pulled off the air. I don’t know if I would watch it if the judges were different.

You might have noticed that in her statement, Paula didn’t mention the newest judge, Kara DioGuardi. I don’t know if that is just because Kara is so new or if Paula doesn’t think the other woman on the panel belongs in their “dysfunctional family.” Either way, I hope Kara gets to come back. One season wasn’t enough and I’m sure it was tough for her to be the “new kid.” Hopefully, she will have more confidence and will feel more comfortable coming up with her own critiques.

Then again, maybe it’s better with three since there’s a good, bad and middle? It’s hard to say because I also have watched the Canadian, British and French versions and they all work just fine with four judges. It’s lame that these four couldn’t find a way to make it work.

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