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Paula Abdul American Idol

LOS ANGELES — If Paula Abdul’s abrupt Twitter announcement that she’s quitting “American Idol” is a contract negotiating ploy, it’s a spectacular one.
paula-abdul If not, she’s potentially blown a hole in TV’s top-rated show – and rejected an eight-figure deal that represented a 30 percent raise, according to a person familiar with the talks. The person, lacking authority to speak publicly, asked not to be identified.

Abdul dropped her online bombshell Tuesday evening, right before season-nine auditions begin Friday in Denver. That has the whiff of a pressure tactic on Abdul’s part, although boycotting the early auditions that skipfrom city to city might have been a less dramatic way to negotiate.

Her tweets, however, seemed to have an air of finality.

“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return” to Fox’s singing contest, Abdul said on her Twitter account. “I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon.”

There was a sense of closure, too, in a statement from Fox and producers FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment.

The companies said Abdul was “an important part of the ‘American Idol’ family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show.”

They said she was “a tremendous talent” and wished her the best.