The Real Reason We Don't Hear From Paula Abdul Anymore

Abdul has best been known as the nice judge on American Idol, and when she left in 2009, MTV wanted to know why. When they did some digging, they (and The New York Times) found it was over money. With Ryan Seacrest signing a $45 million contract deal as host, she was in the middle of negotiations for a pay raise.

According to The New York Times, she was making $2 million a year (plus $1.5 million in expenses) as a judge. In comparison, Simon Cowell was bringing in $30 million a year for his role as a judge and, when she was offered a pay bump to $5 million a year, it wasn't enough. It was still half of Seacrest's yearly salary, and he was also getting another $15 million for signing over the use of his likeness. With neither Abdul or the accountants willing to budge, she walked after eight years on the show.

Entertainment Weekly talked with Abdul in 2016, and she wasn't pulling any punches. She called the audition process of the show "horrible", and talked a bit about her run-in with a former sound engineer from the show. She says, "A few years ago, this man came up to me and introduced himself and said, 'I was your sound guy on your first day at work at American Idol.' And I said, 'Oh wow. I feel bad, I must have quit a few times.' And he said, 'Eight. You quit eight times.'"

It's no wonder, really, as she hints at the fact that Cowell's bitterness and anger is directed at her, too, mentioning him first when she was asked about her most difficult times on the show. "Well," she said, "There was one thing that Simon told me. He said, 'Being you is overrated.'"

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