Apparently, Angie's departure wasn't of her own volition.Here is the text from the Story on Star Magazine's website:
PAULA ABDUL GETS NEW AMERICAN IDOL HOST FIRED
PAULA ABDUL'S jealousy is the secret reason hip-hop queen Angie Martinez was fired only a week after nabbing the coveted seat as American Idol 2's new fourth talent judge! claims a source.
Insiders tell Star that Abdul, 40, who rejuvenated her career as the lone female member of the reality TV show's three-judge panel, hated sharing the spotlight with Martinez, 31, a chatty radio fixture on New York's Hot 97 since the late 1990s.
"Angie made Paula look boring, and Paula obviously couldn't take the competition," says an insider.
Martinez will not be replaced, and the show will go back to its familiar three-judge format, Fox says. Once the move was announced, Martinez insisted it was her decision to quit the smash series.
"After judging the first few auditions, I've decided to leave the show because it became too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up their dream," Martinez said in a statement.
A spokesman for Paula denies she had a hand in Angie's early exit. "Not only was Paula saddened by her departure, but Angie's presence was welcomed by Paula," he said.
But insiders tell Star that Abdul was straight-up plotting behind her back. She convinced fellow judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson to give Martinez the hook, insiders say.
"Paula was furious that Angie was getting better lines and was so well-liked," adds the insider.
Content to be the only female judge, Abdul told producers she didn't want Martinez to help pluck the next American Idol from obscurity.
"Paula has been on top of the world and didn't want to make room for another woman. It's a real shame Angie is gone. Everyone thought she was a great addition to the show," the insider said.
Martinez, who had never seen American Idol before joining the show, spent several days judging the competition in Detroit and offered her opinion on a few contestants in New York before her quick departure, sources say.
"But she had a great rapport with the contestants during that week and, being a singer herself, she knows how it feels to go through auditions," the insider said.
Last year, Martinez went from playing the hits to making them with the debut of her CD, Up Close and Personal. Her second release, Animal House, has generated a Top 10 single, If I Could Go.
"The show's producers thought an additional judge would spice things up for the new season, so they hired Angie, a saucy DJ," explains a source.
But Abdul didn't want her rival's following to get any bigger.
"As a result, Angie is history," adds the source.
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