Archivesdid Simon give Paula the finger?
Simon Cowell’s middle finger gesture/scratching motion on Tuesday night’s American Idol 3 prompted two complaints to the FCC and some all-caps headlines on Matt Drudge’s site. USA TODAY has the rundown of what happened after Fantasia Barrino’s performance. In a statement, Simon denied that he was joining millions of viewers at home by flicking Paula off: “I certainly would never make a gesture … like that toward Paula on national television. Sometimes I lean on my index finger. Sometimes a different finger. Sometimes two at the same time, or, God help me, even the whole hand.” Drudge says that the image “came close to being cut,” and he quotes a source at FOX who says, “It appeared he was simply resting his head on his middle finger, but I now think we made a mistake, the gesture should not have aired.”
+ also: 19.5 million viewers called in after Tuesday’s show, but Matt Rogers didn’t get enough to stick around.
American Idol 3
did Simon give Paula the finger?
link to this story + posted Mar. 29, 2004 at 6:30 AM by Andy Dehnart
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