COWELL UNHAPPY WITH DEGENERES AS “IDOL” JUDGE

Departing American Idol judge Simon Cowell took an indirect swipe at fellow judge Ellen DeGeneres during an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday. Cowell expressed disappointment at Paula Abdul’s exit from the show, saying that she had been part of a “great team.” And the producers’ decision to replace her with DeGeneres obviously rankled. Asked who he thought should replace him on the show next season, Cowell said that it ought to be someone who has a background in the music business. “I think primarily, you’ve got to have somebody on that panel who actually knows what they’re talking about,” he said, “because everyone is talking about casting the nasty person or this person or get another Brit.” That line of thinking, he suggested, is a self-defeating approach. “If we were judging ice skating, I mean, you wouldn’t have somebody on who’s obnoxious. You’d have somebody who knows the difference between a 10, a 9 and an 8. I think, to a point, [the show] has to get back to that,” he said.