American Idol

Kris Allen is just one of the many people affected by TWS -- last night, the "American Idol" runner-up winner told us his wife's been all over him since "reading all this stuff about Tiger."

Kris claims the paranoia is even causing his wife to have "bad dreams."

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for TWS.

No, it wasn't Taylor Hicks.

Simon Cowell is hitting the half-century mark with a lavish party at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, England today -- a swanky private mansion where people with money throw swanky private parties.

How can judging people be wrong ... if you can make so much money doing it?

The fifth season runner-up debuted her new blond bob last night at the Ann Taylor runway show in NYC.

It's the most exciting thing she's done since finishing second place to Taylor Hicks.

That would be like Simon, well, being nice.

Photogs caught Paula in NYC yesterday and she said she thought Ellen will be "great" on the show.

But really, what did you expect Paula to say?

"AMERICAN IDOL is a fantastic show that offers an invaluable platform to young talent. Ellen DeGeneres is wildly funny and talented in her own right. I wish her and the show only the best of luck."

Earlier today, DeGeneres told Ryan Seacrest she hoped "Paula is OK" with the decision.

Ellen DeGeneres made a plea to "Idol" nation today -- telling fans that she's not to blame for Paula Abdul's departure from the show.

A seemingly excited Ellen called in to "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" this morning, where she told Ryan she doesn't want people to think she's "evil" for taking Paula's job.

Though Paula has yet to comment on the switch, Ellen also said, "I hope Paula is okay with it."

Ellen announced the big news during a taping of her talk show today, saying "I have a big announcement to make. No one knows this ... I am going to be the new judge on 'American Idol.'"

He's used to crushing wannabe singers, but now Simon Cowell is accused of destroying a wannabe chef ... or at least her arch support.

Simon and his ex-GF Terri Seymour have been sued by a woman who claims she got a "try-out" to be their private chef. In the docs, the chef claims Terri made her remove her sneakers and put on a "clear-bottom" pair when entering the home.

The cooking seemed to go well and the chef eventually took off, only to realize that she left her sneakers behind -- which she claims had $500 orthopedic insoles inside of them.

The chef claims she made repeated attempts to get 'em back -- and even made an additional trip to the house when Terri's assistant claimed he found them. She says the pair he produced weren't hers.

The woman has filed a small claims lawsuit seeking $661.59 from Cowell to cover the shoes, pricey insoles and the $9 in gas she wasted driving over.

A rep for Simon and Terri says "this is a ridiculous story." The rep says the chef simply left her sneakers and that Simon and Terri attempted to return them -- adding the pair that was found in the house are in fact the woman's sneakers.

FYI -- his girlfriend thought the question was high-larious.

Abdul also made it clear she isn't jealous of Posh -- or any other "American Idol" replacement judge -- and raised the point, "they don't ever say that about men ... why does it always have to be women who are jealous?"

We can think of one example -- Dunkleman?

Sources close to Paula Abdul say even though "Dancing with the Stars" ain't gonna happen, she's still talking to ABC about a show of her very own.

As we first reported, Paula met with ABC honcho Steve McPherson earlier this week and now we're told one of the cards on the table is a possible variety show. And we're told they also discussed a talent competition with Paula in the Simon Cowell seat. Sources say Paula also talked about her desire to become the executive producer.

And there's this little tidbit. We're told Paula's feelings about being "disrespected" by "Idol" execs is more intense than ever after learning Victoria Beckham pulled in a fortune -- reportedly $275,000 an episode.

But sources say she'd still come back to Simon -- if the price ($10,000,000 a year) is right.

Sources connected to Paula Abdul say Miss Paula wants back on "American Idol."

Our sources say Paula's Twitter is retracted -- at least in her mind - if the price is right. As we first reported, the magic number is $10 million. Will Paula move from that number? The way negotiations go in Hollywood ... probably, but we don't know for sure and if so how much she's willing to give.

We're also told Paula's meetings with ABC didn't really go anywhere. She doesn't want to do "Dancing with the Stars" -- we're told, in no small part, because she wants to be able to jump on a plane on a moment's notice to rejoin her fellow judges on "Idol."

And, we're told, Paula is piiiised at the producers of "Ugly Betty" for leaking the story that she was talking to them about doing the show. She's not going to do it now.

As for "Idol," as far as we know they've been pretty hard-nosed and haven't contacted her reps, but we're not positive. In the end, we're thinking "A.I." isn't gonna let a little Twitter torpedo one of its golden geese.

UPDATE: We spotted Paula Abdul out Saturday night at Boa. She didn't quite know where the restaurant was ... or whether or not she would be joining "Dancing with the Stars." Hmmm ...

Paula Abdul isn't missing a beat. Our spies say she spent part of the afternoon yesterday with ABC entertainment honcho Steve McPherson.

We're told Stevie M. wants Paula to be a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" in the worst way. We're told there was talk of making her a guest judge but that's not gonna happen, and we know why. Paula and Carrie Ann Inaba don't get along.

But McPherson, who's friends with Paula, wants more from her than "Dancing." There's talk of Paula doing a guest appearance on "Ugly Betty." And we're told Paula has a show in mind with her name on it.

As for that other show ... "American Idol" we think it's called ... Paula is not shutting the door. $10 million, and she's theirs.

Stay tuned...