Paula Abdul Tweets That She Is Leaving ‘American Idol’

By Germain Lussier on August 5th, 2009

Around 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time last night, Paula Abdul tweeted that she had chosen to quit “American Idol.”

“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all.”

FOX responded with the following: “Paula Abdul has been an important part of the American Idol family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she’s a tremendous talent and we wish her the best.”

Several sources are saying that Abdul, who made $2 million dollars working on the show last season, had been offered a 30% raise over multiple years that would have been worth around $10 million. It’s believed that she walked away because she felt the show hadn’t respected her.

Fellow judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson (who are both signed through next season) and Kara Dioguardi (who resigned with the show last week) aren’t commenting. But host Ryan Seacrest said this on HIS Twitter, “Idol and the cast have grown with each other over the last 8 seasons. I can’t imagine the panel without Paula. She’s a star @ a great friend.”

With people clamoring for jobs across the country, turning down a big raise and walking away from the biggest show on television doesn’t sound like the best idea for Abdul. Then again, neither is getting all drunk, loopy and going ON the biggest show on television. Either way, it will be super interesting to see how this affects “American Idol.” Will the show feel the same without Abdul? We’ll find out in January.