Paula Abdul To Leave American Idol?

Paula Abdul may not return to American Idol for American Idol's 9th Season, according to Paula Abdul's  manager David Sonenberg, because Fox has yet to renew her contract for American Idol's upcoming season.

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Paula Abdul

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In response to the news, outraged Paula Abdul fans mounted a KeepPaula twitter crusade, which was the second most-talked about topic on Twitter on Saturday night.

Abdul  responded warmly in response to her fans in the twitterverse. "I'm actually moved 2 tears upon reading the enormous amount of tweets showing me your kindness, love,&undying support. God bless all of you!" she tweeted on Saturday.

Many fans and past contestants say that American Idol simply isn't American Idol without Paula Abdul.  "American Idol without Paula Abdul is like Christmas without presents, summer without sunshine, Three's Company without Suzanne Somers," wrote one news week journalist.

In contrast, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest was awarded a $45-million three year contract and  American Idol judge Simon Cowell was offered a contract of more than $100 million.

However, some think that the publicity generated by the statement by Paula Abdul's manager is a carefully planned ploy to give Abdul more leverage in contract negotiations and, thus, a higher salary.