American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres is looking back over her first year on the hit reality show – and has vowed to be more mean next year.
The chatshow host joined the Idol panel of judges after Paula Abdul quit, but Ellen came under fire early on in the season from critics saying she was ‘too soft’ on the contestants.
So now with Simon Cowell also quitting the show, Ellen has vowed to be a ‘little harder’ on the wannabe singers.
She told USA Today: “Your first year anywhere is going to be tough, because you’re trying to figure out what your role is.
“I think next year my role will be to be exactly who I am, sometimes funny and sometimes serious, and I think I’ll probably learn to be a little harder on people without being rude.
“But I think it was a fine line for me to walk this year.
“It’s always been Simon’s show. There’s a whole dynamic there. You want to be respectful, and it was his last year, and so a lot was going on that needed to happen.
“I think next year will be a different year. No one can replace Simon, just like I wasn’t replacing Paula.”
And she very well should be, even though not more than a few days ago she was bragging about how Simon Cowell always listens to her, but apparently that was just a façade for the Earl of Exigency’s true nature. This is what Leona Lewis said on the matter: “He didn’t come to the studio but I’d play him songs down the phone. It’s scary and you think, ‘Please like it!’ We’ve formed more of a bond and we can be honest with each other.” Simon Cowell truly is the maker and breaker of great stars and Leona Lewis does well to remember that. After all, with just the point of a finger he might bump her back to trying out for The X Factor.
The 200lb woman arrested for choking British TV host Terri Seymour has been ordered to attend anger management classes.
Janice Thibodeaux, who attacked Simon Cowell’s ex-girlfriend at the finale of American Idol, pleaded guilty to battery in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday.
The former security guard, 33, reportedly targeted with the slightly-built ex-model because she was upset at seeing Simon jokingly choking fellow judge Paula Abdul during the show. Thibodeaux was placed on 36 months’ probation and ordered to adhere to a restraining order filed against her by Seymour.
She must also attend anger management classes, undergo 36 hours of psychological treatment, and perform 20 hours of community service.
Thibodeaux will next appear in court on July 16 to hear the results of psychological tests.
Following the disturbing attack, X-Factor supremo Cowell ordered bodyguards to protect his 35-year-old former love.
In the application for a restraining order, made at LA’s County Superior Court, a shaken Terri said Thibodeaux had "put her in a headlock, wrenched her neck and choked her with the full force of her 200lb frame".
