Ellen DeGeneres (51) was chosen to replace Paul Abdul on American Idol. Fox said in a statement:

"DeGeneres will sit alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi and offer her own unique perspective to the contestants throughout the competition."

DeGeneres starts her judging after the audition rounds, which have featured a rotating group of celebrity guest judges including Shania Twain, Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas and Kristin Chenoweth.

We here Paula Abdul was stunned at being permanently replaced on American Idol by Ellen DeGeneres:

“Privately, Paula is very upset. She’s never going to admit it publicly but this stung.”

Publicly Abdul said:

"AMERICAN IDOL is a fantastic show that offers an invaluable platform to young talent. Ellen DeGeneres is wildly funny and talented in her own right."

"I wish her and the show only the best of luck.”

Abdul must be seething mad, but we’re happy to see her humbled.

Ellen is an incredible choice. With Ellen on the panel of judges American Idol might be able to sustain their viewers’ interest for a few more seasons.

Paula Abdul has had new management for a few months now, and her career is going straight into a nose dive.

Paula’s manager told the Los Angeles Times’ Show Tracker blog that his client has been talking to every network but Fox as she considers various post-Idol opportunities. While they "would never count anything out," so far there have been "no discussions whatsoever about Idol," manager David Sonenberg said.

Sonenberg added:

"It’s clear she’s got an enormous number of fans—people want her to be on Idol or any other show. She’s got to deliver the goods, but assuming she does, she’s got an audience who’s prepared to listen."

"I think you’re going to be seeing a lot of Paula, sometimes as an executive producer, sometimes as a performer or mentor and sometimes as a creative developer."

"She feels fabulous. She feels free. I think in some ways she was typecast in Idol and she was kind of restricted from doing anything she wanted to do and now she’s free to decide. She really is very excited about the future and that there’s support for her."

Talk, or in this case delusional bragging, is cheap, and doesn’t pay the bills. This new manager of Paula’s could be encouraging Paula’s overblown ego trip, which could have cost Paula the last best job she’ll ever find again.

Despite all the bragging about "incredible offers," the fact remains that Paula is currently unemployed, and all the rumored offers so far have not resulted in any work. Is Paula trying to top the well paying cushy job she had on American Idol? We think so. Good luck with that.

Paula Abdul has been bragging about all the big offers she has been getting, yet none of them has materialized. All those offers seem to be a figment of her ego’s imagination.

When the paparazzi quizzed Paula about Dancing with the Stars, she just said "Life is good." More like denial is good.

When asked if she was jealous of Victoria Beckham replacing her on American Idol, Paula said:

"They don’t ever say that about men … why does it always have to be women who are jealous?"

Because men rarely get jealous of other men the way women do. Duh. Paula is so sensitive these days.

Emmy-nominated host Tom Bergeron appeared on Good Morning America today to reveal the record number of stars that will appear on Dancing with the Stars.

Paula Abdul did not make the list. Add that to Paula’s list of incredible offers that didn’t pan out.

Here’s the full list of stars you’ll see during the three-day premiere of Dancing With the Stars, kicking off Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC:

• Kathy Ireland, 46, model
• Macy Gray, 41, singer
• Melissa Joan Hart, 33, actress
• Mya, 29, singer
• Ashley Hamilton, 34, actor-comedian
• Michael Irvin, 43, football player
• Mark Dacascos, 45, actor and martial artist
• Donny Osmond, 51, entertainer
• Kelly Osbourne, 24, singer
• Debi Mazar, 45, actress
• Chuck Liddell, 39, UFC fighter
• Natalie Coughlin, 26, swimmer
• Joanna Krupa, 30, model
• Louie Vito, 21, snowboarder
• Aaron Carter, 21, singer
• Tom DeLay, 62, former House majority leader

Tom DeLay? Really? Even Kelly Osbourne made the list, and she’s listed as a singer. I had no idea Kelly could sing. This should be an interesting season.

I did find Kelly singing One Word at the 2005 Australian VMA, and sad to say her singing was worse than the amateurs at a Karaoke bar.

Paula Abdul let her ego get the best of her when she rejected the salary increase from American Idol.

Despite reports that Nigel Lythgoe wanted Paula on So You Think You Can Dance?, it has become very clear that Mary Murphy does not want Paula on the show at all. It appears most agree with Mary, so Paula will have to look elsewhere for employment.

Paula bragged about all the incredible offers she was getting, including one to appear on Ugly Betty, but an ABC spokesman for Ugly Betty said:

"Paula will not be on our show."

It seems that all the offer Paula has been bragging about have turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking, which is exactly the kind of thinking that cost her a cushy job spouting incoherent comments on American Idol.

We’re waiting for you to show us all how wrong we are about you Paula.