Paula Abdul Gets Candid on How Ellen DeGeneres Fared as Judge on 'American Idol'

Television personality Paula Abdul sat down for an interview with Andy Cohen recently. She dished on what she thought of Ellen DeGeneres’ judging skills when the show host joined “American Idol.”

In 2009, singer Paula Abdul, 58, left her judging post on “American Idol” after being with the show for eight seasons. For season 9, Ellen DeGeneres, 62, took over Abdul’s post on the competition.

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” host enjoyed working alongside Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, and Randy Jackson. Abdul was recently asked what she thought of DeGeneres’ judging skills on the show.

While appearing on a recent episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” the musician was also asked how she felt about being replaced by DeGeneres. Abdul couldn’t help but laugh before answering:

“Well, first of all, I was ready to leave, so I had already made peace with that.”

Continuing to respond to the questions, the television personality then shared what she’d thought of the television show host’s judging skills on “American Idol.” The singer confessed:

“And I thought Ellen would be great, I really did.”

“The Masked Dancer” star also noted how DeGeneres had joined the show with the perspective of a fan as she doesn’t sing. Abdul shared how the host brought the outlook of a regular viewer.

The singer also praised the comedienne for actually doing a “good job.” However, DeGeneres doesn’t seem to have fond memories from her short-lived time at the singing competition.

In 2015, while speaking on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM radio show, the host confessed that she felt joining “American Idol” had been one of the worst decisions she'd ever made. She then elaborated on the analysis.

The new show is a dancing spinoff that is inspired by "The Masked Singer.”

DeGeneres admitted to Stern that she didn’t have what it took to break contestants’ hearts. She was happy to see someone else take on the role and felt the show wasn’t the right fit for her.

One of the other questions Abdul was asked on Cohen’s show was to name one winner from the “American Idol” reboot. The musician confessed she couldn’t name anyone as she hadn’t caught up on the show.

Last December, Abdul took on the role of panelist on the new show "The Masked Dancer," which premiered on Fox. The new show is a dancing spinoff that is inspired by "The Masked Singer.”