Naco1776

SIMON $ALARY ENVY

WHAT has been long suspected about bad blood among the judges on "American Idol" over money was confirmed over the weekend.

Nigel Lythgoe, the former executive producer of "Idol," says that Simon Cowell is earning $36 million a year from Fox for the show - far more than his counterparts, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Jackson's and Abdul's "salary has never been advertised and Simon has been in Forbes which is why I am talking about it," Lythgoe told an Australian newspaper.

"But there is always jealousy in every job.

"Why is he getting more than the other two judges? Because it is believed that he brings more to the table."

Lythgoe, who quit the show at the end of last season to concentrate full-time on his own series, "So You Think You Can Dance," believes Cowell is worth every penny that he's paid.

"He has actually handled his negotiations quite brilliantly," Lythgoe says.

Cowell's negotiating strategy has been never to sign a contract for longer than 12 months.

"He's only ever negotiated by the year," Lythgoe said. "And now he is getting something like $22,000 per minute."

SIMON $ALARY ENVY - New York Post

AIgrl06

That is just an obscene amount of money. Over twenty thousand dollars a minute! A lot of people make that in a year.

But hey, I guess that's show business.

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randdlittle

Yea that is definately over the top!

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NKL

He's probably thinking "USA, what a country!". But yes, way to much money.

carebearcarrie

HAha.
woww.
only a contract for each year?
woww.
i hope he keeps going.
i bet he will with making that much bank!

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borgjohnson

Is Simon Cowell Overpaid for American Idol?

Nigel Lythgoe let the cat out of the bag recently when he disclosed how much American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, is paid. Apparently, he makes a whopping $36 million per year from the show (about $22,000 a minute!) while Paula Abdul is believed to be making just $5 to $8 million per season. That’s a HUGE difference! Wow!

Well, a “source” (take with a grain of salt here, people) claims Paula is upset by this revelation: “Paula knew that Simon was getting paid more, but she never imagined it was this much more. This could really put her in a bad way…. she has a lot of concerns with feeling appreciated.”

Honestly, I think Simon should be paid more but that is too large a discrepancy, in my opinion. However, he is the one person who, I feel, makes the show. Still, if Paula feels underpaid and possibly displaced by the hiring of a second female judge (Kara DioGuardi), this really could signal the end of this show as we know it. I immediately wondered what the scene would be like backstage. Can you imagine? One Abdul “friend” is reported as saying: “It’s ridiculously obvious that she’s getting pennies compared to Simon. If you thought she had reason to run late to the set now, imagine what the future may hold. I kind of feel for the assistants who are going to be made responsible for getting her on set on time. It’s always a challenge, but now? I don’t want to think about it.”

Yikes - sounds like good times ahead!

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Jade1992

wow.
I think its kinda ridiculous how much money hes making off it.

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scoutfisher

of course it's a ridiculous amount of money but american idol is making a ridiculous amount of money. without simon, i don't believe AI would've survived this long