Abdul broke the big news on her Twitter account, where she had been updating fans about the progress with her "Idol" contract renewal.
“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 being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon,” Abdul wrote.
“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. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all.”
Here’s what Fox had to say about Abdul’s departure:
"Paula Abdul has been an important part of the 'American Idol' family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she's a tremendous talent and we wish her the best."
Although neither Abdul nor Fox gave a reason for Abdul quitting the show, last Thursday she tweeted, “I hope you understand I can only return to Idol if the deal is fair."
The Los Angeles Times previously reported that Abdul’s current annual salary was around $4 million. She had reportedly initially asked for a raise as much as $20 million but then lowered the request to $12 million. In comparison, judge Simon Cowell currently makes about $36 million a year and host Ryan Seacrest recently renewed his contract with a deal that works out to $30 million over three years, plus $15 million for merchandising rights to his image.
If those figures are correct, it really makes you wonder what Fox offered Abdul to renew her contract. If the network is shelling out $36 million for Cowell, it seems like they could afford to at least give Abdul a third of his paycheck. Sure, Cowell’s mean barbs, sassy critiques and straight-forward advice are all a huge part of the show, but so are Abdul’s crazy antics, facial expressions and off the wall analogies.
Having four judges on the show wasn’t really working out for “Idol” as squeezing in all four judges’ critiques often made the show run over on time – but couldn’t producers have instead just kicked off new judge/songwriter Kara DioGuardi and used the dough saved to give Abdul a raise?
Although Cowell still has Seacrest and the “Idol” contestants to pick on, it just won’t be the same without Cowell and Abdul exchanging witty banter and insults back and forth. They were such a cute little married couple, what with Simon drawing on Paula’s face and such.
And when Cowell gives contestants horrible critiques, who is going to pick up their spirits by telling them at least their outfit looks hot? Don’t lie, you too will miss Abdul practically falling asleep at the judges’ table, her own crazy outfits and comments such as, “I want to squish you, squeeze your head off and dangle you from my rear-view mirror.”
Paula, come back to us!
Click here for Paula’s Twitter account.
Click here for the Los Angeles Times article.