It’s official, Paula is out and Ellen is in. The out comic and daytime TV favorite is making her return to primetime as a judge on the hit series American Idol.
The speculation over who will replace Paula Abdul on the extremely popular series American Idol is over, and we couldn’t be more excited. Set to join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi at the judges table is none other then out comic, actor and CoverGirl Ellen DeGeneres. The Emmy Award winning talk show host will join the cast for the ninth season in January 2010 after the audition segment of the show is over.
A number of people including Perez Hilton were rumored to be among those on the short list to replace Abdul, who left the show after eight seasons after rumored salary disputes. But the official word came down Wednesday that Degeneres would be the one bogeying into Abdul’s shoes, a move that marks DeGeneres’ return to primetime TV following thecancellation of the The Ellen Show in 2002.
In a program that garners a large portion of it’s entertainment value from the harsh critiques of the judges, DeGeneres who has a reputation for being nice, in a recent interview with the Associated Press assured audiences that she was up to the task.
“I think it’s going to be hard, but as my career has grown… I’ve learned how to be tougher and learned how to say no,” DeGeneres said. “I think I can do it and I think I can do it in a respectful way.”
And as for standing up to Cowell? “When Simon is rude and mean, I will tell him he’s rude and mean,” DeGeneres said.