Comments on: Updated: Ellen Degeneres joins American Idol as new judge

By: Sharon

Sharon — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:34:26 +0000

HORRIBLE CHOISE !!! Apparently they never saw her on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ She was the WORST !! She took up way too much time, said nothing, added nothing, and acted like it was her own private comedy hour.

By: R.G

R.G — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:30:19 +0000

She’s too annoying.

I prefered if Victoria Beckham was picked, I mean she seems more qualified.

By: romo

romo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:04:45 +0000

ew.

By: dave

dave — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:37:40 +0000

I lie Ellen. And as a professional and popular entertainer she is as qualified as any except cowell to make judgments on who’s likely to make a successful pop star.

By: Mumbo

Mumbo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:24:11 +0000

Oh God no.

She was guest judge on SYTYCD for its 100th episode and it was painful. She was funny at first, but the problem is she has no idea when to stop. Her shtick wears out within about twenty minutes, and she offered no opinion of any real value. She was just being a smartass the entire time.

I was hoping they’d just go with three judges this season – Kara’s bad enough as it is – but now this. At least Paula provided hilarious awkwardness. Ellen provides forced humor, and now we’ll have to endure Ryan Seacrest giggling at every single thing she says, and panned shots of the vacuous audience laughing along.

By: forg

forg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:18:33 +0000

Well, Neil Patrick Harris is busy with How I Met Your Mother

Even if the people will not necessarily like Ellen as judge I don’t think that will be reason enough for viewers to not watch AI. As long as they’ll have the contestants that will appeal to viewers, people will watch. FOX successfully made the show an “event”. I’m not AI’s biggest fan and I seriously want a show to challenge it in the ratings but I’m being realistic here, AI will most likely be the #1 show still this season.

By: Chucksmom

Chucksmom — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:04:34 +0000

Your Correct, Dig Daddy!

Why not Neil Patrick Harris? We is a great host and he can certainly sing!

Oh- and did I mention funnier then Ellen?

By: HogWash

HogWash — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:44:00 +0000

What a terrible choice. The shock factor will fade and people will get over Paula. But Ellen is not as controversial and bizarre as Paula and her warm fuzzy funny will fade quickly. She seems like she would be a good host of the show, but not a good judge. I’ve already been thinking that AI will not be #1 at the end of this season and this just sealed it for me. Dumb dumb dumb

By: BIG DADDY

BIG DADDY — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:35:14 +0000

NPH –Neil Patrick Harris will make her look silly when he’s the guest judge.
The man’s got talent.

By: Boris

Boris — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:40:52 +0000

I just watched as much of Degeneres’s appearance on SYTYCD S5E18 as my nerves could take. Yikes. It’s not just the forced humor, but I can’t put my finger on who Ellen physically reminds me of at this point. I want to say Arte Johnson, but that’s not it.

By: Shem

Shem — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:35:21 +0000

I guess we all have to wait until January to see ratings. A guest judge wasn’t bad but as a permanent one!?? Time will tell of Idol’s success.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:23:44 +0000

Wow, I skipped this by yesterday thinking she’d just be doing a guest-judge spot. But this is actually real. Wow.

Wow.

It’s just SO odd. I have no idea how she’ll even fit in the dynamic of the show. She just seems so … not the right choice for this. It would be like picking Bill O’Reilley to take over for Oprah when she retires. Two totally different dynamics.

OTOH, Fox will get a lot of publicity for this, and it will pique people’s interests. And Ellen’s talk show ratings will soar as she gets exclusive interviews with the contestants. I really can’t think of a loser here.

By: ABCHasProblems

ABCHasProblems — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:17:22 +0000

Despite the publicity Idol has received from Paula’s exit, this has got to be the worst decision ever made by a network. Ellen has a very likeable personality and would be a better host than Ryan Seacrest, but she knows nothing about music! Remember in 2002 when ABC considered turning Millionaire into a comedy show hosted by Jon Stewart? That idea was (thankfully) scrapped and I think FOX should re-consider their risky move with Idol. Over-conservative Idol fans will likely tune out of the show for the fact that Ellen is a judge, while some hardcore fans will tune out since Ellen is the only judge with no musical experience. Ratings are unfortunately going to fall either way and Idol may not be the #1 show on TV after 2010. Couldn’t they have picked someone like Mary J. Blige or even Kelly Clarkson?

By: D.J.

D.J. — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:59:56 +0000

Ellen fits in on “American Idol” about as well as Dennis Miller did in the booth on “Monday Night Football”… look how well that turned out for him!

What’s next? CNN replacing Campbell Brown with Larry The Cable Guy?

By: forg

forg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:31:17 +0000

Well let’s admit that Idol is not just a singing competition anymore, they are the #1 TV show in the US, the hiring of Ellen as new judge is a way to keep people interested, although they are the still the landslide ratings winner for the past four years, the numbers have dropped last season , casting Ellen is a way for them to keep their ratings supremacy.

But personally though, I would have preferred is she replaced Ryan as the host

By: CK

CK — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:26:25 +0000

Love Ellen, but this is just a casting stunt. Although, it just might work…

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:42:07 +0000

What in God’s name does Ellen have to do with music or singing? At least Paula and Kara had some kind of tie-in with the music business. This has got to be the oddest thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Ellen…but 5 years? She just seems like a different breed than to be a judge for this kind of show. It’s definitely odd.

By: AO

AO — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:34:33 +0000

Fuuuuuuuuuuuu-dge!

I heard a lot of bad stories about her from when “These Friends of Mine” was beginning and thereafter have always gone out of my way to avoid her and anything that she is a part of.

I’m thoroughly disappointed to see her now associated with such a successful program. Especially as I can no longer put on American Idol as background noise on Tuesdays when there is nothing worth watching on.

By: Cimmer

Cimmer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:23:49 +0000

Odd. I’m trying to picture the interaction between her and Simon? Somehow I just can’t see it or I can’t see it being comfortable. On the other hand, in a strange twist of fate, they could end up being the Odd Couple and we could get more enjoyment from watching them, than the contestants.

By: Chucksmom

Chucksmom — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:34:39 +0000

Wow! The ratings will go through the roof now…..

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:51:47 +0000

Zeker, apparently you missed all of them, or just didn’t recognize her. She plays Ray’s ex-wife.

By: zeker

zeker — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:46:12 +0000

Anne Heche is in Hung? Did I miss an episode?

By: CJ

CJ — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:36:04 +0000

Gee, this really stinks. Why bother with the singing at all and the judges can just yak and tell jokes. She really sucked on SYTYCD.

By: networkinsider

networkinsider — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:41:08 +0000

yes they got married before it came illegal, and still are

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:40:16 +0000

Rhuw, indeed I was! Show’s how much I’ve been reading People lately!

By: Rhuw Morgan

Rhuw Morgan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:37:49 +0000

No I think they’re still married Bill, are you mixing up Portia with Ellen’s ex Anne Heche (star of Men in Trees and HBO’s Hung)?

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:20:59 +0000

Rhuw, that would be ex-wife, right?

By: greennogo

greennogo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:12:53 +0000

Really, this is a pretty savvy choice. Paula didn’t add much to the whole constructive criticism aspect to the judging, just inadvertent comedy due to her random bouts of hydrocodone fuled flightiness. This is a more respectable way of maintaining comedy relief quotient without the uncomfortable voyeurism. (Although with the benefit of retrospect, that may not help with the ratings.)

By: Jeff G

Jeff G — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:56:26 +0000

That ought to lower the ratings a bit.

By: Rhuw Morgan

Rhuw Morgan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:35:57 +0000

Not only does Portia de Rossi have to star in a show that no one watched last year, but come January she’ll be beaten in her timeslot by her own wife when Idol goes to 2 hours. Poor Better Off Ted.

By: forg

forg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:34:43 +0000

This is what Ellen said about what will be her role as the new judge
http://www.tvguide.com/American-Idol/Ellen-DeGeneres-American-1009557.aspx

“Hopefully I’m the people’s point of view because I’m just like you. I sit at home and I watch it and I don’t have that technical… I’m not looking at it in a critical way from the producer’s mind,” DeGeneres said.”

I think it could work.

By: Visan

Visan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:21:18 +0000

Thanks, Mr. Seidman, for clearing up things!

Ellen is humorous but it seems so odd for her to be on AI as a judge….

By: kev0170

kev0170 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:07:48 +0000

wow wtf… are u reli kiddin me… dont get me wrong i love ellen but my god y sign her for 5 years if u dont no how the masses will take it opening night.. FOX u are making a big mistake and i seriously believed that you shouldve chosen a different person cuz i dont believe she wud have the experience in that area like paula did but hey its just a thought…

By: JulieJulie

JulieJulie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:37:24 +0000

YAY!!!!!!! Great choice. Listen all you Paula fans: she blew it. Period. I stopped watching the show last season just because I got tired of watching that girl self destruct every evening. Ellen is going to be great — funny, smart, she has a hit show, and aside from gay bashers (and especially those of you whining who don’t even WATCH the show), get over it. The fact is, the girl is going to knock it out of the park. Abdul will land on her feet somewhere else and she’ll be just fine. I like Ellen DeGeneres. Great show, great guests, she’s won about a thousand Emmys, and she’s got a great personality. Good for her. This is a smart thing for her to do. Finally FOX gets something right.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:26:50 +0000

I like Ellen alot im happy she will be on it hell i might even watch an a few eps now.

By: nickandmore

nickandmore — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:16:58 +0000

WOW! I’ve happy about this news. I like Ellen DeGeneres, she’s great!

By: imfug

imfug — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:15:42 +0000

i think Fox is trying to upstage Obama again with news…hmmm

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:14:04 +0000

This is… ummm… bizzare?

When they were told, do you think Randy, Ryan and Simon thought it was a joke at first?! I’m betting that at least two out of three started laughing!

She’s a funny woman and nice enough but… I mean… what’s going on?

Could the most valuable show in the world not find anyone in the music business to take that seat? They’re selling her as a humanitarian as oppose to any music business accumen.

By: RJ

RJ — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:12:33 +0000

Wow!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:12:23 +0000

This is a
FIVE
YEAR
DEAL?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!! Fox must REALLY, REALLY want Ellen because she hasn’t even come on ONE episode yet! Ellen is very likable (I’m a fan), but I think this is going to fall flat….and what will Fox do if Ellen ends up testing poorly with the audience??

By: sam

sam — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:05:59 +0000

well now i will be watching haha

By: monster

monster — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:59:12 +0000

Ellen who’s next, Carrot Top? I thought it would be someone of musical value, anyways never seen the show , and will continue not to watch

By: forg

forg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:58:38 +0000

Whether you like this choice or not, this is so smart for Fox, publicity wise. This will get people talking and curious. Paula’s loss is big news for AI but the replacement is even bigger news. This came out of from nowhere. Who have thought she was being considered? Very sleek for Fox, they take the viewers minds off with the various guest judges and completely shocked us with this news. This is kind of like when Katie Couric was announced to host CBS evening newS. Personally, I’m looking forward on how Ellen will do as judge

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:58:25 +0000

I like Ellen but she’s not a singer or knows anything about music and I can’t see what she’ll bring to the table in comparison to Paula. Simon’s a A&R producer, Randy’s a music producer and Kara’s a singer-songwriter. It’s a risk that could pay off or badly backfire.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:55:26 +0000

Ellen Degeneres? Thats a little random as a new judge. Not necessarily a good or bad thing but just odd.

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:54:26 +0000

I’m just astounded. I mean, I don’t care for Idol, and I’m not a particular fan of Ellen (though I don’t hate her), so why should I care about this at all? It just feels so wrong. Obviously, like forg said, they are going for a comedic bent with the fourth judge, but I just can’t imagine how that is going to work out.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:50:14 +0000

Maybe I will wacth American Idol a little more than just the finale this year if Ellen is going to be on. I like Ellen so much, watch her show everyday. I wish people wouldnt say mean things online, if you dont like it then just move on without leaving a mark.

By: Daneil

Daneil — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:49:16 +0000

This is funny. good bye american idol

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:47:39 +0000

Visan, there’s no way it is a joke. But the “Holy S##T” aspects of it are brilliant, and I’m just thankful they cut off at the pass all the will she/won’t she with Paula Abdul that I would’ve subjected myself to for the next 4 months

BTW, I updated the post, Nikki Finke reports it’s a 5 year deal.

By: forg

forg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:43:43 +0000

I don’t think Ellen will be you know a typical judge. This decision is more for comic relief obviously and Ellen knows that. But you can’t deny this will attract more viewers.