# Ellen DeGeneres leaving American Idol **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526 "2010-07-30T00:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/1 "2010-07-30T00:11:53Z")
[The story](http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/07/ellen_degeneres_american_idol_news_0729.php), presumably in her own words. I didn’t catch a lot of Idol this past season, not because of her, just because there was other stuff I would rather watch. But I remember thinking that it was a head-scratcher when I heard she was to be a judge. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/2 "2010-07-30T00:29:04Z")
I’ll be surprised if AI manages to survive more than one more season, especially with Cowell’s X Factor launching in the US (with him in it, and not on AI). I think the audience will simply follow Cowell. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/3 "2010-07-30T13:16:15Z")
Rumors are that the new judges will be Randy, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez with Kara also leaving. I predict a huge drop in the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/4 "2010-07-30T15:31:52Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Rumors are that the new judges will be Randy, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez with Kara also leaving. I predict a huge drop in the ratings. I just read that Kara was fired. I hope they get rid of Randy too, that guy has nothing interesting to say. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/5 "2010-07-30T15:48:13Z")
If Steven Tyler really is going to be a judge, that’s going to be the reason I stop watching. I can’t stand him. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/6 "2010-07-30T16:14:44Z")
So, I guess the rumors I’d heard about Chris Isaacs stepping in as a judge were false? I’ve never really watched the show, but I might tune in for a little Chris Isaacs… ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/7 "2010-07-30T16:20:04Z")
She is such a sweetheart. I don’t do AI but I’ve heard enough to know she wouldn’t last. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/8 "2010-07-30T16:21:28Z")
Tell me about X Factor. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/9 "2010-07-30T16:38:52Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > Tell me about X Factor. Not much to tell. It’s like American Idol, but it’s owned by Simon Cowell. The entry categories are a little broader (in terms of ages and groups), and the judges each mentor a category during the finals and compete against each other to win. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/10 "2010-07-30T17:38:38Z")
I have to give her credit. She is right that Idol and her did not work and leaivng is wise. I suggest: Tarantino, Quincy Jones, and Liza Minelli What a weird show it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/11 "2010-07-30T17:41:18Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I hope they get rid of Randy too, that guy has nothing interesting to say. Ever. Well, he does talk about his dogs a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/12 "2010-07-30T17:49:51Z")
I don’t think AI is going to last much longer. It has almost been confirmed that the Judges are going to be Randy, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Yeech… Kara is (Hooray!) gone, and that makes me very happy. When Paula left, it got significantly worse. I can’t stand “JLo” and consider her a third-tier talent. Steven Tyler is okay, but I don’t know how he’ll do as a judge. Randy is…meh. I know I’ll be watching X Factor, since I’m a sucker for Simon. I guess, if the talent of the contestants and their personalities are good, I’ll stay with AI for a while. But, I’m not a super-fan anymore. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/13 "2010-07-30T18:18:25Z")
Today JLO was offered as a possible new judge. has she dropped that far? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/14 "2010-07-30T18:37:17Z")
I don’t watch AI, but I heard the problems fans had with Ellen was she was too nice? Is this a fair assessment? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/15 "2010-07-30T19:07:55Z")
Dumping both Ellen and Kara is addition by subtraction. Ellen really added nothing to the show. Nothing against her personally, but it just wasn’t a format where she could really shine. She was there to be funny, but the only way to really be funny on a show like that is to be snarky, and Ellen isn’t snarky. I found Kara insufferable and it makes me happy that she was fired. I can’t think of any way at all that she made the show better. She made me miss Paula. Steven Tyler and J-Lo, though? I can’t see that working unless one of them is willing to be a bitch. Simon being an asshole and being willing to tell people they suck has always been the hook on this show. If the judges are all cheerleaders, the show is _Star Search_. The asshole role is not easy to replace, though. It’s not as simple as _just_ being a dick. it requires a correct tone, and it has to always be grounded in truth. Simon was blunt, but he was almost always right. Even when he criticized things like physical appearances, he was giving them real, unvarnished show business advice. He didn’t blow smoke up their asses, and that made his compliments mean something. Tyler and J-Lo both know the business, but I wonder if either of them will be willing to be as bluntly critical as Simon, or if they will know how to maintain the credibility of tone that he had. He never came off like he was _just_ trying to be a dick. That role is a tightrope. I don’t know if it can be filled. I think this show might be done and the audience might switch over the that “X-factor” thing that Simon is supposedly working on. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/16 "2010-07-30T19:20:36Z")
Can I just say one more thing? I love Steven Tyler - he seems smart, cool, funny, and straightforward. And he certainly has the chops to give advice to musicians. But I don’t know if I want to see his haggard/scary face three times a week. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/17 "2010-07-30T22:22:52Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The asshole role is not easy to replace, though. It’s not as simple as _just_ being a dick. it requires a correct tone, and it has to always be grounded in truth. Simon was blunt, but he was almost always right. Even when he criticized things like physical appearances, he was giving them real, unvarnished show business advice. He didn’t blow smoke up their asses, and that made his compliments mean something. That’s because Simon Cowell’s background as an A&R guy and producer gives him the background to know what will and won’t work. So while the replacement for Ellen DeGeneres can be a well-known singer, I think they need a music producer-type for Simon’s replacement, and that might not be someone any of us recognize. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/18 "2010-07-31T02:30:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The asshole role is not easy to replace, though. It’s not as simple as _just_ being a dick. it requires a correct tone, and it has to always be grounded in truth. . John Lydon. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/19 "2010-07-31T02:32:11Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > The asshole role is not easy to replace, though. It’s not as simple as _just_ being a dick. it requires a correct tone, and it has to always be grounded in truth. . > > John Lydon. That would be brilliant. However, wouldn’t _American Idol_ be the antithesis of everything he stands for? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526/20 "2010-07-31T03:46:00Z")
IMO I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a great job as guest judge when they were doing the auditions. But his show is on CBS so that probably is a conflict of interest. Harry Connick Jr, who did an outstanding job mentoring last season, could fill Simon’s job. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-degeneres-leaving-american-idol/548526.md?page=2)