By now you’ve probably heard about the mighty peculiar TV interview with Paula Abdul last week, in which she slurred her words and “gesticulated bizarrely” (as everyone’s putting it). Not only did she say crazy things, but her head was flopping around like a mishandled Muppet’s.
That clip was such a hit that Fox felt compelled to issue a statement defending their American Idol star from all the (reasonable) speculation that she must’ve been drunk or high when she gave the interview. According to Fox:
Last week, during a satellite press tour there were intermittent technical difficulties, including severe audio issues in which multiple stations were speaking to her at once. Rather than getting angry about these difficulties, or stopping the tour, Paula forged ahead and decided to have fun with the increasingly challenging situation. Unfortunately, because reporters and viewers were unaware of the situation, her humor was misconstrued.If you’re famous, it’s best not to enjoy a private joke in public and to leave that kind of unexplained wackiness to civilians. Especially if you’re being filmed for live TV. Also, when you’re completely wasted, it’s important to remember that those who are not might be incapable of keeping up with your kicky humor. Just something to keep in mind. It’s got to be hard to come up with a credible defense for comments like: “How about a lot of you coming in? It’s a wild party where you are.” I’ve seen similar sentences on Japanese stationery that I treasure dearly, but it’s not so cute when it comes slushing out of Paula’s mouth and isn’t accompanied by cartoon animals in party hats.
Paula’s publicist had already offered an explanation for her odd behavior: “They dropped the sound twice. It was confusing to her. She heard a lot of screaming in her ear.” But don’t they make medication for that?
Bravo recently announced that Abdul will star in a new reality series Hey Paula (the gasp! missing comma is their doing, not mine). Before all the interview hoopla the channel’s president said the show will offer “an intimate glimpse at the real woman behind the headlines,” and the star, herself, said, “I’m excited to open the doors to Bravo and have all my fans see the other sides to me, beyond what they see on American Idol.” Careful what you wish for.
