John Rich Rips "Idol" Judge Paula Abdul

Big and Rich's John Rich photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

May 7, 2008 — Paula Abdul caught plenty of flak last week when she critiqued two performances on "American Idol" by contestant Jason Castro, even though Jason had only sung one song. Among those less than impressed was Big & Rich’s John Rich, who will be a judge this summer when "Nashville Star" airs on NBC.

"'American Idol' infuriates me as an artist," John said during a Los Angeles press event, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "They’re being fake about it. When you can’t make a cognizant comment about someone’s performance and you’re commenting on something that happened the day before, why don’t you just walk up on stage and slap them right across the face while you’re at it? As an artist, I would just flip them the bird and walk off the stage. She wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on."

Ratings for "Idol" are down 10 percent this year, creating some concerns that the show has peaked. "Idol" producers have reportedly polled viewers about changing the format, while others have suggested that guests such as Neil Diamond and Andrew Lloyd Weber haven’t really appealed to the youthful audience they seek.

John believes the show has become phony.

"We have to respect the fans’ ears and eyes and give them something that’s for real," he said. "Don’t try to con them. And I think that’s why ‘American Idol,’ in my opinion, is just dive-bombing. I can’t stand watching it. I wouldn’t want to be on that show now if you gave me a $100 bill."

The FOX-TV network responded with an official statement saying John’s "opportunistic comments are particularly disturbing considering the fact he attended a taping of ‘American Idol’ last April, told producers, judges and performers he enjoyed himself and also did an interview with a crew from ‘American Idol Extra’ where he was extremely complimentary toward the show."

If Paula wants to get back at John, she’ll be able to start picking him apart when "Nashville Star" debuts on NBC June 9. Billy Ray Cyrus will host the series, and Jewel and songwriter Jeffrey Steele (also star of the GAC series, "The Hitmen of Music Row") will join John as judges.