Rumor has it that “American Idol” has fired all four judges around the same time that Randy Jackson announced he would be voluntarily leaving the show.
It looks like producers are just as fed up with the diva antics and wishy washy feedback as the rest of us are.
Sources say that the show is ready to cut all four of the judges from the show and try to replace the entire panel for the next season – because there will unfortunately be yet another season.
“All four are gone,” one source told The Wrap. “They feel they’ve lost their core audience and they want it back… No more big checks for divas.”
Well if the rumors are true; it seems like Randy is jumping ship before the ax comes slamming down.
“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to rest, after 12 years of judging on ‘American Idol’ I have decided it is time to leave after this season,” Jackson said in a recent statement.
The statement came shortly after Randy was also axed as Mariah Carey’s manager and it seems like the only original judge just isn’t ready to get fired twice.
Either way, he claims he is walking away from the show in order to focus on other business ventures.
“I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry,” he said. “It’s been a life changing opportunity and I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures.”
Well Randy’s statement means that the only original cast member of the show will be Ryan Seacrest and even he has lost some of the appeal he had back in the day.
Perhaps Fox needs to realize that the show had a great run and massive success but they need to bring this chapter to a close while “American Idol” will still have a legacy. If they keep pushing the show for another season or two it will go down in history as a hot mess instead of a true reality TV game changer.
As for new judge Nicki Minaj, even she is unsure about what her fate is like on the show.
“That’s a million dollar question,” she answered when Ryan Seacrest asked her if all four judges were indeed being fired. “I have to say this all the time, but I want people to know it’s genuinely from my heart. I love the people on Idol. I genuinely do.”
She also admitted that despite her feud with Mariah and some of the backlash she has gotten since sitting behind the judges’ panel she would be more than happy to do it all again.
“If I had to do it all over again, I would have done Idol,” she added. “Because it’s fun, it’s laughs. It’s kind of sad that what people read all the time is only when something is negative. But they don’t realize that we built a family.”
She also added that she was grateful that producers picked her to join the show when they “could have picked anyone in the world.”
The rumor mill has it that the judges aren’t the only ones up on the chopping block.
Longtime producer Nigel Lythgoe is also supposed to be replaced after he has been with the show since its creation.
Let’s just hope the entire show is getting the axe this year.
