The biggest shockwave in TV continued to be mass firings on Fox’s THE X FACTOR with host Steve Jones tweeting to his followers yesterday that he won't be back for season two. Soon afterwards, Fox confirmed that that Pussycat Dolls singer-turned judge Nicole Scherzinger also received the boot but the clincher came late in the day when Fox confirmed that Paula Abdul also wouldn’t be returning as an X Factor judge.
The show's creator and head judge Simon Cowell, who reportedly made the decisions while on retreat in the U.K. to evaluate the show’s first season, talked to The Hollywood Reporter about his decisions via a statement.
“I want to say a massive thank you to Paula, Nicole and Steve for being part of The X Factor last year,” he said. “We had a lot of fun making the show together and importantly, we found some real talent and stars. You do develop friendships with the people you work with and Paula, in particular, is a very close friend and I expect to be working with her on another project in the near future. I’m sure all three are going to have massive success in what they do next, but now is the time to thank them all for everything they did last year.”
No word yet on the status of LA Reid, who’s the last X Factor judge standing after yesterday’s staffing bloodbath.
X Factor fans, what do you think of Cowell’s bloodletting? Who’s on your short list for replacement judges?