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Ryan Seacrest May Shun ‘American Idol’ Reboot Offer Because Of Katy Perry Deal

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 23:20 PST, May 28, 2017

Ryan Seacrest is having second thoughts about accepting the offer of hosting the upcoming American Idol reboot on ABC, and it has something to do with Katy Perry.

It’s about Perry’s paycheck to be exact. According to Page Six, Seacrest isn’t happy that Idol has offered Perry $25 million to become one of the show’s judges while he was offered only $10 million to return as host. Seacrest has a good reason to feel slighted upon learning about Katy’s salary. Having hosted the first 15 seasons of American Idol, his name is almost synonymous with the show.

Ryan Seacrest reportedly learned about Katy Perry’s massive paycheck soon after the “Roar” singer bragged about it last week on 103.5 KTU.

“I’m really proud that, as a woman, I got paid. And you know why? I got paid, like, more than like pretty much any guy that’s been on that show.”

“[He] was suddenly asking himself why he would come back for a 16th season at a salary [much smaller than that] of the newcomer judge,” Richard Rushfield, author of American Idol: The Untold Story, wrote in his newsletter, the Ankler.

Seacrest already has his hands full hosting Live With Kelly & Ryan in New York, and with American Idol requiring him to go on weekly cross-country trips to Los Angeles, he “has grown notably cooler on the prospect,” Rushfield wrote.

Asked for confirmation on the story, an ABC spokesman said, “We don’t comment on negotiations or salary.”

“Ryan isn’t pleased with the protracted negotiations,” according to an insider. “But he is hopeful that a deal can be reached given his affection for the show.”

Another network insider dismissed the rumors in regards to Perry’s paycheck for the American Idol reboot, saying that she’s “not getting $25 million.”

Can ABC afford both Katy Perry and Ryan Seacrest?

It bears noting that Fox pulled the plug on American Idol after 15 seasons because the production value had gotten too expensive. ABC, of course, will be wise to avoid committing the same mistake. While it’s imperative for the show’s executives to give up a huge amount of money in order to hire the biggest name that would fill up one spot on the judges’ panel, there is always the risk that the other judges — and in this particular case, the host himself — might feel that they’re being shortchanged in their respective deals.

If American Idol 2017’s execs decide to shore up their offer to Ryan Seacrest to keep him on the show, they can’t afford to have other big stars to sit beside Perry at the judges’ table. In fact, as previously reported by TMZ, that’s what they’ve been planning all along. The bigwigs behind the American Idol reboot are reportedly thinking of hiring a music producer and a songwriter for the judges’ panel.

TMZ’s report, however, sounds contradictory to the rumors that Coldplay’s Chris Martin is negotiating with American Idol 2017’s producers to join Katy Perry on the judges’ panel. As reported by the Inquisitr, ABC is hoping Martin will be officially named as one of the show’s new judges in the coming weeks.

“ABC bosses were keen to get Chris on board as soon as the new series was given the green light,” a source said. “Chris is a great performer and they think he would make the perfect judge.”

Probably part of the reason why Martin is being considered to judge the American Idol reboot is because of his brief experience as an adviser on the U.S. version of The Voice in 2014.

That said, the discussion on the notion of Chris Martin becoming one of the show’s judges has become more interesting on account of Ryan Seacrest’s disappointment with the offer made to him by American Idol’s executives.

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk and Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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