Ellen Degeneres has been chosen to replace Paula Abdul on American Idol.

Ellen says that she will follow along in Paula’s footsteps as being the “nice one” on the panel. In an interview broadcast on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show, Ellen said, ““I’m not going to be mean.” Referring to Simon Cowell, the British judge who usually offers the most piercing criticisms of “Idol” contestants, she added: “I hate when Simon’s that mean. You can be constructive and you can criticize somebody in a way that’s helpful instead of meanspirited.”

Time will tell whether Ellen’s style of telling jokes and doing a lot of talking in between performances that she demonstrated when she was a guest judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” will be a good fit for “Idol.”

Judge Jessica??

Joe Simpson thinks his daughter Jessica + “American Idol” would be a purrfect matchin a Post-Paula show universe, the N.Y. Post reports. Pops, Jess’ manager and a former minister, has been shopping around the idea for Jessica to replace Paula. We’d watch that. How about you?

Abdul and her clevage ponder her purported upcoming stint on "Ugly Betty."

Former American Idol” judge Paula Abdul has a couple of potential entertainment gigs in her post-AI career, apparently. The Twitter Quitter is being courted by Disney-owned ABC with all the feverish energy of a Hannah Montana concert, according to TMZ. Options include a judge or dancing role on “Dancing With the Stars,” possible temporary run on”Ugly Betty” or, we’d dig this, her own show. We’re just giddy thinking about all the ways this obsession over La Abdul can go wrong.

But, at least one possiblity looks like reality. Michael Ausiello with Entertainment Weekly reports Abdul is in discussions with the Alphabet network to guest star on “Ugly Betty.” She’ll play a temp at Mode who befriends the self-obsessed receptionist Amanda. Abdul+acting= Must See TV, no?

Adam Lambert addressed the issue of his sexuality in an interview with Rolling Stone: “I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I’m gay.” Bet you didn’t see that one coming, huh?

Lambert stated that American Idol bigwigs told him to keep mum about his sexual orientation until after the show was finished and that he had a crush Kris Allen, who he describes as being “the one guy I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty, and totally my type–except that he has a wife.”