If Paula Abdul is the heart and soul of American Idol, I’d like to know why FOX had the audacity to offer her a mere 1/3 of what Ryan Seacrest will be making?

Nobody close to the negotiations seems to be talking concrete dollars.  FOX crows that they offered her a 30% salary increase.  Whoopee!

Ryan Seacrest just signed a three-year deal for $45 million.  Paula asked for $20 million, but FOX refused to even discuss it.  The gossip shows are reporting she walked away from a final offer of $4 or 5 million per year or 33% of what Seacrest will make.

I’m just dumbfounded.

So, I decided to check out my sense that adult female performers ~ especially the singers ~ got the short end of the stick in the the top 40 of Simon Cowell’s America’s Got Talent roster.  Some bloggers and fans have suggested the AGT judges stacked the deck.

Here are the numbers on the acts on the top 40 talent roster:

19 men. . .9 women. . .5 girls. . .2 boys. . .4 male/female. . .1 boy/girl.

Then, because I’m still on a rant about Kari Callin, I checked out the singing acts:

7 men. . .2 women. . .3 girls. . .1 male/female.

In the first elimination round, there were twice as many male acts as female.  Grandma Lee was the only female act that survived.  In contrast, half of the male acts advanced.

While I don’t disagree with how America voted, I am livid so many female singers never got the chance to compete.

When I add up Paula Abdul’s salary offer with the dearth of women on the AGT talent roster, I’m left wondering whether Simon Cowell is a sexist prig.

Will he bring Kari Callin back for a Susan Boyle redo in the US?  I certainly hope so.