Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Last year, 'American Idol" bumped Randy Jackson off the judge's panel for the first time since the show started. He became a supposed "mentor."
Based on what we saw on screen, he was pretty darn useless. Deadline.com broke the story that he will not be back for season 14.
Although he was part of that magical original trio of judges with his signature "Yo Dawg!" and celebrity name dropping, the novelty had long worn off by the time Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell left. He was ultimately a drag and it took "Idol' way too long to get rid of him. (No offense, dawg.)
This leaves host Ryan Seacrest as the only original on-air person left on the show.
Both Jackson and Idol executives released very nice statements, which may or may not reflect their actual feelings.
"Idol": "Randy has been such an integral part of American Idol since day one, both as a judge and as a mentor. He's provided great advice and support, shaping the success of so many Idols we have discovered over the years. We wish him all the best in his next chapter. Randy will always be part of our Idol family and we hope he'll visit from time to time."
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Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of Atlanta's TLC is part of a parody reality competition show called "Do You Have What It Takes" featured on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show."
What is "it"? We don't know. And neither do the contestants:
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Some donors for Clay Aiken's failed congressional campaign are upset he didn't tell them footage would be used for a docuseries. (Esquire is airing it next year.)
Among those upset? A man named Steve Tyler, though not the Aerosmith Steven Tyler. Read more here.
I think Clay's idea of documenting his race was a good one. It's very important that we learn just how much a candidate puts into the job from the very beginning. What I disagree with is him personally benefiting from that documentary (as a reality series). And those of us who signed releases were told it was for air on BBC only and not in the US.
Esquire sent out a note to me stating Aiken is not financially benefiting in any way, that this is considered a documentary, not a reality show. Here is what they are saying specifically:
- This is a four-hour documentary, not a "reality show."
- Clay Aiken was not paid, so he cannot "personally benefit" from it. He signed an appearance form like anyone else who appears in the documentary.
- The series is produced by filmmakers who possess an incredibly strong documentary pedigree -- Academy and Emmy-Award winning documentarians Simon Chinn (Man On Wire, Searching for Sugar Man) and Jonathan Chinn (American High), of the UK production company Lightbox.
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