Rosie O’Donnell Disses American Idol Judges

By: Shannon Gossage

A clip of one of the contestants was shown on The View. After the contestant leaves the stage, Simon Cowell calls him a "bush baby" and begins laughing. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul begin laughing as well. O’Donnell said, "Isn’t that what America thinks is entertainment? To make fun of someone’s physical appearance and then when they leave the room laugh hysterically at them – three millionaires, one probably intoxicated." O’Donnell is obviously making a reference to Abdul’s recent bizarre television interviews. She added, "The whole thing, it’s terribly sad to me."

The sixth season of American Idol premiered Tuesday and was the most watched debut for the show in all of the seasons. According to the Nielsen Media Research 37.3 million viewers watched the premiere. O’Donnell isn’t the only one who has an issue with the show. Entertainment Weekly critic Michael Slezak wrote, "Several moments from (Wednesday’s) two-hour highlight-lowlight reel of Seattle auditions failed to pass my personal squirm test, and I know that I am not alone."

Many visitors to the American Idol message boards are saying that FOX seems to be broadcasting more of the bad auditions, possibly for better ratings. One fan wrote on the Website: "I think they know how much people enjoy the bad auditions, and thought that by filling auditions with nearly ALL negative auditions that they’d be improving the show. Not so. I love birthday cake but if I at it for every meal, it would get old." The show is a hit…but how long before the judges antics and the terrible contestants get old?