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Ellen DeGeneres Out On Idol Gives Back

April 2, 2008 08:50:13 by Joe Reality

FOX had previously announced that talk show host Ellen DeGeneres would once again be co-hosting Idol Gives Back. However, it turns out that Ellen had to back out of her co-hosting duties. In a recent press call, American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe explained, ‘Ellen, we were told couldn’t do it due to personal production pressure, and it’s going to be taken over by Ryan.’

Even though Ellen DeGeneres might not be co-hosting, almost every other major celebrity on the planet appears to be lined up to appear. Nigel Lythgoe listed Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus and Robin Williams as a couple of the celebrities who would be appearing. Lythgoe said that he specifically didn’t want to talk about what Robin Williams did, because he wanted to keep it as a surprise.

In regards to why there were so many celebrity guests, Lythgoe explained, ‘I think it’s important that they are showing that everybody is going to take responsibility in this. It isn’t just about the Idol. This is about everybody coming together to make this work.’

When Lythgoe was asked if he was worried about people getting donor fatigue over all the different fundraising events out there, Lythgoe responded, ‘We should not be the generation that sits back and says, ‘Are you worried about fatigue of people giving money?’ No, I’m bloody well not worried about that. They’re either going to give or they’re not going to give. We’re going to do some marvelous things with the money that they do give, or if we haven’t got the money then we’re not going to be able to do it. But the fact of the matter is, we’re going to bloody well try to do something, not just sit on our asses, saying, ‘Aren’t we lucky we have the number one show in America. Bullocks to that. Let’s get on and do something about it.’

As previously announced, no one will get voted off the show during Idol Gives Back. The American Idol results show will air on the following night after Idol Gives Back. When asked if he considered creating some other type of carrot to get viewers to tune in, Lythgoe responded, ‘Yeah of course we did. For my money, this isn’t about a carrot. I don’t want to cheat the audience here. This is about a wonderful show with incredible talent involved with it, asking you to do something about what’s going on in the world, end of story. After that, carrots are just misleading the audience and stink. If we get less of an audience, then so be it. But I want to keep this as something very special, and that is asking people to make a difference.”

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Photo Credit: FOX

Topics: American Idol |

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One Response to “Ellen DeGeneres Out On Idol Gives Back”

1. Idol Gives Back - Mini Recap | American Idol Says:
   April 10th, 2008 at 11:36 am

   [...] a 6.7 rating/18 share among adults 18-49) without that “carrot” producer Nigel Lythgoe did. Roughly 17.60 million viewers and a 6.7 rating/18 share among adults 18-49) without that [...]

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