I do not understand American Idol executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe’s pining for Jennifer Lopez. She hasn’t officially announced absolutely positively that she’s leaving the Idol judges’ panel yet, although I think, “It’s time for me to move on.” is pretty much an indication that she doesn’t plan to come back.
But until Jennifer explicitly announces that she’s not returning, Nigel is holding out hope for her return, he said at a So You Think You Can Dance panel at today’s FOX Television Critics Association Tour in Los Angeles.
“All I said to Ryan is I was really upset to hear of Steven [Tyler] leaving us and the possibility of Jennifer leaving us. She did say 99 percent. Strange thing to say, 99 percent. You’re either leaving or you’re not leaving. So I’m hoping that 1 percent may mean she’s not leaving.”
You’ll notice that FOX has not sent out a press release announcing Jennifer’s resignation like they did for Steven Tyler. It could be if her salary demands are met, she would come back after all.
Nigel. It’s time to move on. Mooning over Jlo is like begging an ex-girlfriend–who has made it clear she doesn’t want you anymore unless you can show her the bling–to give you the time of day. It’s pathetic. There’s nothing Jlo did on that panel that merits paying her an astronomical fee. 17 million dollars is too much.
But then, he contradicted himself when he said, “I would really like to see the judges change every year.”
On the current negotiations for new judges, Nigel says:
“It’s horrible to be in this position where [reporters are asking], ‘Who’s it going to be?’ There are thousands of names being thrown about.”I try to deflect [the questions] by saying the Three Stooges,” Lythgoe added. “You can’t negotiate with somebody in a public marketplace. Once you’ve negotiated with the one person you want, you have to balance that with who is around that person. It’s a bit like a jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the front of the box.”
As for Nigel, he’s still negotiating HIS return as executive producer to American Idol.
“I can’t make any comments about my future with ‘Idol’ at the moment. We’re in negotiations is all I can say there,” he said.
