Paula Abdul to Quit American Idol

If the LA Times are to be believed, then Paula Abdul may not agree to a new American Idol contract, thus ending her appearance as a judge who always "acts" like she is under the influence of drugs or alcohol *no one knows for sure because Paula is a mystery*. The LA Times says:

"Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ’Idol,’ " David Sonenberg, Abdul’s manager, told The Times when contacted about the judge’s contract negotiations.

With auditions for the ninth season due to start Aug. 6, Sonenberg says he doesn’t even have a proposal for a new contract from FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, the production companies behind the show. The new season is scheduled to premiere in January.

"I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual; I think unnecessarily hurtful," he said of the contract holdup. "I find it kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful that they haven’t stepped up and said what they want to do."

[Updated at 11:59 p.m.: Sonenberg began managing Abdul at the end of June, he said. According to him, he has "reached out to the head of business affairs at 19" and told Fox that "Paula would love to be on the show." He said Fox told him he would hear from them, but "I have not received any proposal whatsoever."]

Sonenberg has said his client has not been well-compensated in the past.

She’s already looking toward an "Idol"-less future, he says, though Abdul’s foray into non-"Idol" programming, the 2007 Bravo show "Hey Paula," was not a success.

"She’s not a happy camper as a result of what’s going on. She’s hurt. She’s angry," Sonenberg said. "I think at this point we’re going to be considering everything, including some kind of a competition show. She has tremendous ideas for a whole variety of shows."

Simon Cowell has said he wants Paula to stay on the show, but we would rather see a new judge. Simon is the real star, and it’s rumored he is negotiating a contract worth $144 million, whereas Paula’s contract was worth around $3 million. We think Paula should pursue a non-idol project where she can be paid what she thinks she is really worth.