During a press conference today, new America’s Got Talent judge, Howard Stern, had some choice words for his fellow reality show judges, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears. Oh, and he threw in a shot at Ryan Seacrest for good measure.
Let the smack talk begin! I wonder if Nigel Lythgoe will choose to spar with Howard? That could be entertaining. I wonder how Simon Cowell feels about one of his employees calling another employee a trainwreck? Not that he has a great reputation for treating his female employees with respect.
AGT premiers next Monday at 8/7c pm on NBC.
On American Idol and judge Jennifer Lopez, Howard said:
“We’ve gotta be honest, we’ve gotta be direct. You watch American Idol; you can throw up,” he said. “J.Lo, I don’t understand what she’s doing there. Not every contestant can be wonderful. [The contestants] haven’t reached superstardom and it’s my job to get them to the next level and be honest to them about why it’s not happening to them.”
On Britney Spears who is rumored to have signed a contract to sit on the X Factor judges’ panel
“I think it’s a wonderful decision. Britney still thinks the earth is flat,” Stern joked. “I can’t imagine… I think we’re going to tune in to see her, to see if she can function through the thing. As far as any real criticism, I think Simon [Cowell] and LA Reid will do that. As far as criticism, I think Britney will sit there and eat a lollipop and wear a sexy outfit… I’ll tune in to see what kind of train wreck she is, absolutely.”
And on Idol host, Ryan Seacrest:
While he praised AGT host Nick Cannon (“He is great. Anytime I leave a contestant crying, he picks up the pieces beautifully.”), he called Idol host Seacrest “kind of tired.”
In an interview with the Today Show this morning, Howard called the Idol judges “selfish” for failing to critique properly.
“I watch Idol and those three judges don’t have a word of criticism and I think that’s selfish,” he said. “What America needs is an honest judge. You owe it to the contestants to offer criticism. No more of this ‘everyone’s wonderful’ – everyone can’t be wonderful. This is a talent competition.”
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Sources: Insider, Parade, Hollywood Reporter
