Paula Abdul Cleared

By: Shannon Gossage

It has been announced that Paula Abdul will maintain her status as a judge of American Idol after an independent investigation found "insufficient evidence" of impropriety with former contestant Corey Clark. For those of you who do not know, Clark claimed that Abdul paid him to have a secret affair with her. He alleged that if he kept their affair secret she promised to pay his expenses and that she’d paid $2 million to help out his music career. He claims that Abdul "groomed" and "guided" him while he was a contestant on the show in 2003, before being kicked off when an undisclosed police record was made public.

Investigators found they could not substantiate Clark’s claims of a "sexual relationship" or "special assistance" from Abdul with any "corroborating evidence or witnesses." Investigators did conclude that Clark and Abdul did have a telephone relationship, but could not determine the nature of the calls. It came down to the fact that it was Clark’s word versus Abdul’s with no one else to say what the two would talk about. Abdul said, "I’m grateful this ordeal is over, and I’m so looking forward to getting back to the job I love. Once again, I thank my fans from throughout the world for their undying love and support."

There has been no comment from Clark’s camp. Whatever happened between the two it seems as if Clark basically accomplished what he was trying to do. His claims of an affair came two years after the fact when he was trying to release his debut album and also trying to sell his tell-all book to a publisher. Odd timing, don’t you think? As for Abdul, she will join fellow American Idol judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson in San Francisco to kick off auditions for the fifth season.