Ellen's replacement: Jennifer Lopez?
A deal between J.Lo and "American Idol" has already been signed, according to the Associated Press and Deadline Hollywood, which reports: "We hear her manager Benny Medina (whom she once fired) orchestrated the meeting with the American Idol producers a month ago, and negotiations have been ongoing ever since. We've learned a deal was closed earlier this week under the utmost secrecy." PLUS: Steven Tyler to replace Simon?
Simon Cowell reacts to Ellen's departure
"As I got to know Ellen, I grew to really, really like her," he says. "I have huge respect for her because she's always been in control of her own destiny."
Ellen DeGeneres, Fox and "American Idol" producers insist leaving was Ellen's decision, yet just last week her reps told The Hollywood Reporter she was 
Ellen DeGeneres just released a statement saying she's bowing out, saying that she couldn't handle the workload and hurting the feelings of aspiring singers: "A couple months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” she says in a statement. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.”
With Season 2's debut, we now see "Jersey Shore" in a whole different light than when it debuted just before Christmas, says Hank Stuever. "The key to 'Jersey Shore's' charm is that it's not a social study," he says. "As stupid as it looks, and as much as you can hate yourself for watching, it's a complex show about the nature of sin. There's a tendency to examine it too cerebrally in that regard, to think of "Jersey Shore" as pure performance art. Sometimes critics can be wrong in typing too many words."
The expanded 90-minute episodes means whole lot more dressing down on each episode, which makes the judges seem all the more ruthless. "When I reflect upon Season 7, we barely see the Q & A between the judges and the designers," says Tim Gunn. "We barely hear anything out of the deliberation. You get a sound bite, when in fact the Q&A and the deliberation go on anywhere from four to six hours. So you think about it, if you just want to be a fly on the wall, it's very easy to fill in that (extra) time."
If he was being honest to a TMZ photog, the Hall of Fame QB will become the 3rd member of the 
