As America’s Got Talent continues to air on the 2025 TV schedule, Simon Cowell remains a fan-favorite judge, offering plenty of encouragement and compassion to contestants, in addition to his blunt critiques. He’s even called out producers for being “very mean” to the Season 20 contestants. How the tables have turned! Back in the early days of American Idol, Cowell was known for his rudeness, and fellow OG judge Paula Abdul had a pretty specific way of dealing with him.
Paula Abdul paid a visit to The Jennifer Hudson Show, reuniting with the EGOT winner years after J-Hud (shockingly) finished in seventh place on American Idol Season 3. The Dreamgirls actress told the audience that Abdul was definitely the “nice” judge back then, when she sat alongside Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Hudson said she gave the contestants gifts and offered encouragement, calling her the “softest” of the trio, to which Abdul replied:
