Will a grumpy and foul-mouthed American take Simon Cowell’s American Idol judging seat when the Brit vacates it at the end of this season?
Various media outlets are reporting that radio shock-jock Howard Stern has been approached to sit on the judging panel next year.
The New York Post said late last week that Stern was approached by producers. “It’s one of the few shows that could compete with Stern’s $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and Idol bosses think he’d be even nastier than Simon,” a source revealed to the paper.
But will the man who goes out of his way to point out people’s flaws – he henpecks celebs and uses a laser pointer to highlight cellulite on bikini-clad women – actually take the gig?
Sure, he can be mean, but can he deliver constructive criticism? Cowell may say things that cause contestants’ waterworks to kick into high gear, but he makes valid points about whether they can be the next Carrie Underwood … or William Hung.
Cowell announced on Jan. 11 that he was leaving Idol to concentrate on an American version of X-Factor.
I don’t think Stern would do it. For one, he’s made no bones about his intense fear of flying; that fear scuttled plans for him to appear on The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien during O’Brien’s final week on the air.
Second, Stern is based in New York City. His children with his first wife are there, as are his elderly parents and wife Beth Ostrosky. He has told his listeners in the past that he hates Los Angeles, Idol’s home base.
Finally, the man who has had strippers, midgets and genetic freaks visit his radio show and who relishes in potty mouths, really isn’t mainstream material. Would he really take part in a show where he would have to rein himself in to fit within broadcast guidelines?
Not #$%^ing likely.
Thoughts? greg@tvguide.ca
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