Theballerlife.com is hearing whispers that American Idol bosses considered replacing Mariah Carey for former judge Jennifer Lopez at the show’s mid-season until Mariah’s team threatened to sue.
Nydailynews.com reports:
“American Idol” ratings have been so anemic this year that the producers considered dumping rookie judge Mariah Carey and bringing back Jennifer Lopez in midseason, according to a story in the Hollywood Reporter.
Fox strongly denied there was any truth to this scenario, suggesting it was an inaccurate extrapolation from an accurate report that “Idol” would like to bring Lopez back for the season finale.
The Hollywood Reporter said “Idol” producers only backed away from a Lopez-for-Carey swap when Carey’s team threatened legal action.
Carey reportedly makes a staggering $18 million to be an “Idol” judge, for which “Idol” producers hoped she would anchor a judging panel that would halt the show’s rating slide of recent years.
Instead, the slide has accelerated. Total viewership has hovered around 12-13 million, about half the audience of the show’s heyday. Last week’s Thursday results show had fewer viewers than a rerun of “The Big Bang Theory” on rival CBS.
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