For all the American Idol fans out there who love Paula Abdul because she's actually NICE to the contestants, you might be interested in a blog that she just wrote for VH1.
On defending herself against Simon,

"'Dance Like There's No Tomorrow,' that title alone makes me cry. I was told that I'd never dance again, and I was told I'd never sing again. People don't know. I'm completely misunderstood because I sit next to a guy who gets off on trying to make me look like an idiot. People don't know that. It's not a joke. It's real. We are who we are. For whatever reason, he has fun doing that"

On how she's never done drugs and doesn't drink.

"I didn't know that when I signed up for [American Idol] I'd be defending the kids . . . and myself. And my career. You can only imagine kids coming in and seeing me. They didn't know anybody else, and then they'd see me and be like, 'Oh my god!' Well, that didn't sit well. So you'll notice in season one that there's no recollection of my music career. But I held my own. Even though I had to sit there and be accused of things, becoming an object of satire and a caricature. I've had to have dignity and grace. I've watched my reputation fall down and I've felt helpless. Did you ever see me in clubs? Did you ever see me photographed? Absurd! I've never been drunk in my life and I don't do recreational drugs. I've watched myself be mocked."

On her reputation being harmed,

"It's a live show, so I'm always like, 'I'm thinking. I'm thinking.' While Ryan throws to Randy, what you don't see is Simon in my ear, telling me to say the most ridiculous things and bugging me. I've had to learn to tune him out as much as I can. Sometimes it's hysterically funny, but oftentimes it isn't rewarding. So then it becomes, 'Oh, Paula is insane,' or 'Paula is drunk.' For him to say there was something in my Coca-Cola cup was hideous. It was horrible. It's not funny. He could have retracted it, but he perpetuated it. Guys, I'm a good sport, but there's a limit here. This is my reputation. I don't care that you don't care. I don't care that you, Simon, don't even know [the contestants'] names. You can hear what he does to me now, like, 'What's the girl from Ireland's name?' I mean, come on. Only Simon gets away with that. But the truth is that I started to lose endorsements because of false accusations. Now I'm defending my own intellectual property. It's not an easy job for me."

Wow, that's all pretty crazy. I actually feel bad for her. Paula has gotten a bum rap ever since she started on AI. To read the full blog, go here.
Bauer Griffin, ONTD