Richard Rushfield of the Daily Beast repeats what Entertainment Weekly reported a few days ago–that nobody from Idol has, in fact, approached Howard Stern to take Simon Cowell’s place on the American Idol judges panel:
Read it HERE.
Howard Stern will not be replacing Simon Cowell, according to American Idol insiders. This week the Idol nation buzzed with the possibility, first mentioned in The New York Post. The rumor was propelled by Stern on his radio show yesterday when he said, “It might be possible, we’ll see.”
There is, however, less to the story than meets the eye. Two Idol insiders told The Daily Beast that no offer has been made to Stern, and that in fact, with the new season just beginning, the show is months away from choosing a replacement for Cowell. A source familiar with the search process says Stern was never even being considered.
Rushfield has also noticed that, in the audio I posted from Stern’s radio show yesterday, he never actually admits that he was offered the job. ( I noticed this myself, but thought maybe an explicit reference from Stern was omitted from the online edits.)
But honestly, it would be just like Stern to take this news story and run with it. His peeps may have planted it in the first place. Or, maybe even the Idol Powers That Be leaked the story, hoping to drum up controversy on the eve of Hollywood Week.
No matter how you look at it, it just does not seem plausible that Idol would consider the polarizing and decidedly non-family friendly Stern as a permanent judge. And no way would Stern leave his beloved New York City, and the world of radio broadcasting to take on a job that would force him to tamp down his more outrageous tendencies.
No, Stern is just having a little fun, and hoping to leverage the gossip into a bargaining chip with his current employers, Sirius satellite radio. (Stern’s current contract is up at the end of the year.)
If Stern were actually seriously negotiating with Idol for a big-bucks job as judge, he’d be keeping his mouth shut right about now.
Just watch–the person who finally gets the job will totally come out of left field. Folks like Tommy Mattola and Guy Oseary, who have been floated as possible Cowell replacements are probably keeping their PR agents super busy–just like Howard Stern.
