Chilling

Abdul on Idol Suicide

"This was something that would make good television."

The suicide of American Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed outside of Paula Abdul's home hinted at the dark side of reality television, and it turns out that the show's producers may have purposefully orchestrated her humiliation: In an interview with Barbara Walters on Sirius XM radio on Monday night, Abdul said that American Idol's producers knew that Goodspeed had stalked her (she maintained a restraining order against her intermittently for 18 years) and, in fact, allowed her to audition precisely for that reason. "It's fun for them to cause me stress," Abdul said. "This was something that would make good television." Abdul said that she protested Goodspeed's appearance on the show, but that the producers selected her "for entertainment value." Goodspeed apparently found Abdul's house, outside of which she killed herself, by following her home after an audition. When Walters asked why Abdul remains on a program that jeopardizes her safety, Abdul said, "I'm under contract."