During a press conference for his upcoming TV show Superstars Of Dance, former American Idol producer, Nigel Lythgoe, had a response to Paula Abdul’s accusations that Idol producers put Paula Goodspeed in front of the judges, despite knowing she was stalking Paula:
“You do not take somebody in that room that you believe is a danger to herself or a danger to Paula,” Nigel Lythgoe told PEOPLE at Thursday’s Superstars of Dance press day in Los Angeles. “That would not enter our heads.
“The very fact that this happened, I’m really sad for her family,” said Lythgoe. “It happened about four weeks ago. For it to come back four weeks later, I’m really sad we’re still talking about it.”
Lythgoe insists that he had no idea Goodspeed was stalking Paula, and that if Paula had warned him about her, he doesn’t recall it:
“[Goodspeed] had been through an audition process with the producers, an audition process with the executive producers, and we were wheeling her in as a huge fan of Paula Abdul,” Lythgoe said. “This is what we knew: She was a great fan, she was a lovely girl. And a great fan of Paula.”
Nigel says he he harbors no ill will toward Paula, that the incident wasn’t her fault, and that for her family’s sake, the matter should be dropped.
Unbelievably, I think I’m on Team Nigel on this one.
Meanwhile, something tells me MSNBC’s Courtney Hazlett didn’t get the memo from Paula’s peeps (who I bet planted this item in the first place) that the negotiations for her next Idol contract were moving along just fine:
Seems a little strange to air so much dirty laundry just weeks before the new season of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ premieres, but as it turns out, Abdul might not have much reason to care about awkwardness. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s because sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s seriously considering not going back to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ at all.
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Paula has a reality show on MTV (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Rah! Paula Abdulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Cheerleading Bowlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢) and her jewelry line,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ says a source close to Abdul. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got no reason to put herself through the stress of the show if she doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all but done; and given her other successes, she has no reason to be afraid about speaking out now.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Paula doesn’t need the biggest show on television because she’s selling cheap trinkets on HSN and has some crappy little reality show on MTV? Right.
An à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ source says that the scenario à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ one that includes Abdul leaving as early as the pretaped auditions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ is one theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re preparing for. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Obviously we have three other judges who can carry the show, and if she leaves before the live shows, the auditions can be edited so that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hardly noticed.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
I’ll bet my hat this doesn’t happen.
Awesome. This response is so amusingly Libby-esque or Rove-ian that I applaud the adept washing of the hands.
I love Pauler for the pure train wreck she becomes which is sad really when you think about it.
As horrible as this was for her & Paula Goodspeed plus Goodspeed’s family, I think Pauler is now milking this to get more money from AI. All this news coverage plus her on Letterman has to be bad on Goodspeed’s family’s emotions. I am curious to see if she pushes them too far.
I want to say I don’t think AI will let her go, but then I keep going back to them adding the new judge. I wonder if they put the new judge in as a precaution since Paula’s contract is near it’s end & they have the new judge ready in case Paula pulled something. Sentence too long, ahh well it’s late, lol.
Somehow, I find it difficult to believe anything that comes out of Nigel’s mouth.
LOL hypertwink and gabam. Totally agree!
I won’t be surprised at all, if Pauler is out before the top 36. Adding a new judge, the fiasco with Jason last season, all of this blah-de-blah press recently, and them saying there’s a scenario in the works points to it, imo.
Dear Nigel,
Liar, liar pants on fire.
Yours truly,
t2
First things first, Paula needs idol. That is a no brainer. However, idol needs Paula. They have no idea if the viewers will buy their new judge. There is a synergy that adding the new girl might mess with which would make Paula’s absense more glaring.
Paula probably exaggerated her claims. Nigel probably is doing the same. That being said, I would not be surprised if they fire Paula. It would be a big mistake, however.
Sounds like everyone is preparing for her exit. I, for one, would welcome that.
Wow! Pauler-Gate V2 is getting AI BOATLOADS of attention eh?
Nuff Said!
I don’t usually comment on stuff like this….that said I must admit I can’t really figure out who the crazy one is in this story. All things considered, Paula Abdul has been looney tunes for a very long time (her reality fiasco proved that, totally). I think she is one of those unfortunate individuals who thinks and says and therefore it is, if only in her own mind.
It’s just sad that being a “public figure” has allowed Paula to be used and abused by the media, the press, and by us common folk.
Hopefully, someday, she’ll get the help she so desperately needs and will come to grips with all of the self-imposed demons that control her life.
With all of Paula Abdul’s loopiness aside, I knew creepy Nigel would get his mouth on this one. It was just a matter of time….
If he left Idol, then he should…leave. What do I expect him to say? “But of course, I allowed a mentally disturbed woman to be exploited on television.” Right.
Problem is, Sandra (Paula) Godspeed wasn’t the only one.
This wouldn’t be the first time Nigel has lied!
Correct me – but don’t we go through a Paula-gate or Paula-controversy every beginning season? Sometimes I think it’s purposeful just to get the viewers more interested.
Ummmm…I only know of two Paula-gates: Jason Castro and Corey Clark. I can’t think of any others.
Pauler’s a loon, so it’s hard to believe her. OTOH, I can totally believe Nigel and the producers would put Goodspeed through in spite of Paula’s warning and then lie about it to the media.
So much cynicism, so little time.