I have been a fan of Fox's American Idol in the past (although I never vote).  But this year I've been quite critical of the judging during the competition, particularly from Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

I also suspected that one of the contestants, Nadia Turner, was booted due to collusion.  A seemingly good performance with no bad notes in it, Simon Cowell trashed it twice: after her performance, and then after Vonzell's performance.  It seemed as if he went out of his way to do so, knowing that it would kill whatever support she had.

Today, Drudge broke this story:

"We got all these ridiculous questions yesterday from an ABC producer," a top IDOL source tells the DRUDGE REPORT. "ABC can not beat us with programming, so they are attempting to bring us down with lies and false charges."

At the center of the questions, the IDOL source claims, are the actions of show judge Paula Abdul.

"[ABC] is trying to say Paula somehow cheats and picks favorite singers to nurture, in violation of some sort of network standards," the IDOL source, who demanded anonymity, explains.

Fellow Judge Simon Cowell will tell TV show EXTRA Tuesday evening: "Paula, to be fair to her, will spend more time backstage with the contestants giving encouragement and everything else.  But, that’s not a bad thing!"

I'll tell you this:  I'll watch it.  However this story won't have any teeth if ABC doesn't come up with some finalists, and I don't see that happening because they are all under contract (well, contracts could run out, right?)

Paula's been in a huge amount of trouble as of late.  First, she was charged for the hit and run incident from last December.  Last week, one of the former contestants announced he was writing a book about an affair she had with him - he is 24 and she is 42.  And there have been rumors that she has a pill addiction (which would explain her often-erratic behavior).  I wouldn't be surprised if the ABC story is enough for Idol producers to tell Paula her services won't be needed for another season.

I thought last year was embarrassing, but this season has been worse, despite having more talent.  Idol's ratings are at their worst, and I'm sure after next Wednesday things won't get any better.