'Hurt, Angry' Abdul Likely to Quit Idol: Manager

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2009 7:00 PM CDT
'Hurt, Angry' Abdul Likely to Quit Idol : Manager
In this Aug. 26, 2008 file photo, "American Idol" judges, from left, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson arrive at a promotional event for the show in New York.   (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, file)

Paula Abdul is unhappy with her American Idol deal, and her manager wants the world to know it. The famously tongue-tied and tearful judge "is not a happy camper" in contract negotiations, manager David Sonenberg tells the Los Angeles Times. "Very sadly, it does not appear that she's going to be back." Ryan Seacrest recently reached a $45 million deal with the show, which reportedy offered Cowell a jaw-dropping $144 million.

Sonenberg's complaints likely signal a new, intensifying stage of negotiations between Abdul and Idol—but she may lack leverage since producers hired a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi. "I think at this point we're going to be considering everything," says Sonenberg, "including some kind of a competition show. She has tremendous ideas for a whole variety of shows." (More Paula Abdul stories.)

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