TCA press tour: Paula Abdul is being courted by ABC

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Paula Abdul: were your ears burning today around 2:10 PDT?

ABC President of Entertainment Steve McPherson said he’d love to have the former ‘American Idol’ judge join his network’s hit dancing show, ‘Dancing With The Stars,’ either as a participant or a judge.

(And to this we say gently, get in line).

McPherson, who is a good friend of Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly, said he was ‘stunned’ by Fox’s decision not to seal a new deal with Abdul, who demanded a bigger raise than Fox was willing to give her. McPherson said he has wasted no time reaching out to her to say he’d love to have her join his network.

‘I think she’s a huge talent,’ he said. ‘I think that there’s a lot made about her in terms of who she is. And I think there’s a sensitivity and a kind of emotion to her that balances out ‘Idol.’ And we’d love to get a piece of that. It would be great.’

At the session, McPherson said he and Abdul are ‘friends from way back.’ But The Times knows better. The Times knows they once dated.

--Maria Elena Fernandez