Cannes Film Festival 2013

Report: Randy Jackson out as 'American Idol' judge

TMZ says the Dawg will stick around as a mentor; Nicki Minaj deal close to done?

<p>Randy Jackson is reportedly leaving "American Idol" as a judge.</p>

Randy Jackson is reportedly leaving "American Idol" as a judge.

Credit: FOX

Are you a fan of American Idol?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

Randy Jackson's time as an "American Idol" judge is up, according to a report by TMZ.

TMZ says that Jackson, the last of the original "Idol" judges standing, would continue with the show as a mentor, but would no longer be at the judges' table to call people "dawg" and discuss how they can sing the phone book.

If true, that means that all three of last season's judges would be gone, as Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez's exits were announced earlier this summer. So far, the only official replacement judge is Mariah Carey, though the TMZ report says that Nicki Minaj's deal is "99% done" to join the panel, despite the objections of Carey. The report also suggests that the show will return to a four-judge panel for the first time since Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara Dio Guardi left the show following the 2010 season.

Trending Now on HitFix Boards

Comments

  • Option 1

    Comment instantly as a guest Guest
  • Option 2

    Connect
  • Option 3

    Login or create a HitFix account Login Signup
  • Stewie_vader_avatar_talkback_profile

    mcspinelli

    What a shit-show Idol has become. It looked to be coming around when they signed Mariah (a world class talent), but then they signed a talent-less singer known for crazy hair-do's and rapping to judge the signing show. FAIL! Now Randy Jackson can smell the blood in the water and decided to bail.

    They need to reneg on the deal with Minaj and pay that money to whomever Mariah can convince. She wants Lenny Krvitz, which is a huge upgrade over Manaj. At this point, get a producer that has cred in the industry like they did when signing Jackson. Call Jay Z, offer him $20m a season. That's the only way to keep this show from getting slaughtered (ratings-wise) by the X Factor.

    September 4, 2012 at 2:06PM EST Reply to Comment

Get Instant Alerts on Breaking News

Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web