The Bravo reality series follows actress/singer/choreographer/American Idol judge Paula Abdul through her daily trials and tribulations — preparing for another season of Idol, developing her perfume and cosmetics line, and working on the movie Bratz. To the public, Abdul appears self-obsessed and emotionally fragile. The series gives an inside look as to some of the possible reasons why — pressures from the relentless press, Idol, and from running numerous self-titled businesses.
Hey Paula is produced by Abdul, Ken Abraham, Darren Maddern, David Russo, David Russo, and Scott Sternberg. The series kicked off with two episodes on June 28, 2007 and averaged just over 600,000 viewers. Viewership fell to half that by the end of the season’s seven episode run.
Prior to the debut, Abdul said, “It’s a hectic time in my life right now with several projects in television, film and fashion. I’m excited to open the doors to Bravo and have all my fans see the other sides to me, beyond what they see on American Idol.” Once the series aired, she changed her tune.
Abdul now says that she feels betrayed by the show’s other producers and that Hey Paula portrayed her unrealistically, as an unstable diva. Though she has a producing credit on the series, she doesn’t have editing approval. “That was hard for me to watch. Disturbing. They’d put a camera on me when I got wind that my dog was in a coma, and they’d make it (seem) like it was about hair and makeup.”
However, Abdul was pleased about one aspect of the series. It showed that her sometimes erratic behavior stems from being over-tired and a bit dizzy — but not from alcohol or drugs as is frequently speculated. “Being a role model is something I take very seriously, so don’t say I do drugs. Don’t say I drink. Don’t do that because it’s not accurate.”
The Idol judge says that she was asked to do a second season of Hey Paula but absolutely refused. At one point, she was in talks with other networks to do another series on her own terms. Abdul said, “I want to do it the right way.”
That route apparently didn’t go as planned and Abdul now says she won’t do another docu-drama series like Hey Paula ever again. “I must’ve been crazy. These people are on a mission to make you look bad and they edit the film so it’s not accurate at all. I really trusted them to paint a fair portrait but they kept the cameras rolling on private issues that aren’t for public consumption. I learnt my lesson and I am over it now. I don’t have to do it again and I never will.” Stay tuned!
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