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Paula Abdul gets a kick out of pal Simon Cowell.
In a 2023 clip from the Jennifer Hudson Show, which was shared to its YouTube channel on Wednesday, Aug. 13, the “Straight Up” singer recalled working with Cowell back in her American Idol days.
“Back then Simon wasn’t too nice,” Hudson, 43, who appeared on season three of Idol, told Abdul.
Abdul, 63, responded, “Welcome to my world for a decade.”
“I’d have spikes on my heels so I can kick him underneath the table,” she added.
Hudson then pointed out that Cowell, 65, is “so mellow” now — and Abdul said it’s because “he’s a dad.”
“Yeah, he’s different,” the “Rush Rush” singer said. “Not that different though… He’s snarky as always.”
“He still makes jokes every time I see him,” she said, before imitating Cowell, whom she said calls to her like she calls to her “Chihuahuas.”
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American Idol premiered in June 2002 and Abdul sat in the judges table alongside Cowell and Randy Jackson. Abdul stayed on the show for eight seasons and left in 2009. Cowell left in 2010.
Elsewhere in the interview, Abdul told Hudson the reason why she believed she didn’t need to win the singing competition show.
“I remember interviewing you after [for Entertainment Tonight], and I said to you, I know, I have the feeling that some amazing things are going to happen to you,” Abdul told Hudson. “People that need to win, win, and the people that don’t need to win end up winning big time, and you did.”
In 2019, the original Idol judges appeared on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show and reminisced on their time together.
“It does make me think,” Cowell said. “If I had one wish it’d be to make another show with us again. That would be my No. 1 wish.”
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He later added, “Our legacy, genuinely, are the artists who we discovered over the seven-year period. That’s what I’m most proud of. The show’s ratings were great, that’s one thing, but it’s who has come through the process and has made it all worthwhile. And that’s why genuinely, if I could chose who to work with all over again, I would work with these guys again.”
A day later, Abdul told PEOPLE that their reunion was “magical” and like “we had never left.”
“The chemistry is undeniable, that’s what’s made it always special. You can’t manufacture that. Right when the cameras were rolling, it was about telling the funniest stories, nothing but laughs and smiles,” she said.
