Former “American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe finally speaks out on the issue of the possibility of Paula Abdul exiting the hit FOX series.
“I don’t think we should give up yet,” he tells reporters. “Negotiations are a game. You want this; I want to give you that. You know what you will take at the end of the day. I know how far I can go. It is the same as buying a house, you just keep bantering away. At the end of the day, I think it is fair to say ‘American Idol’ needs Paula Abdul and Paula Abdul needs ‘American Idol.’ They sit very comfortably together. Neither one should feel that they have been pushed too far.”
He also added that he believes that the format of “American Idol” is stronger than anybody, be it a producer, a judge or a competitor. The show has been successful all over the world, including those countries where Simon Cowell is not on the air.
“But when you get Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson together, they are an historic phenomenon,” he adds. “Whenever ‘American Idol’ is mentioned, they will be named. Whenever anybody talks about game-changing shows … this show took FOX [out of] fourth place. When you look at that, that is how important Paula Abdul is in that whole matrix of the phenomenon. I hope they won’t lose her.”
