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Ellen DeGeneres: Being 'American Idol' judge was one of her 'worst decisions'

Ellen DeGeneres thought the role would be fun, but instead found it difficult to pass judgment on vulnerable performers.
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/ Source: TODAY

Ellen DeGeneres has already said her brief time as an "American Idol" judge wasn't a good fit, but now she's admitting her time on the popular talent show was one of the biggest mistakes of her career.

Image:
In this undated publicity image released by Fox, \"American Idol\" judges, from left, Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson are shown. (AP Photo/Fox, Michael Becker)Michael Becker / AP

“That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve made,” she said on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show Tuesday.

The popular daytime talk show host said she had been a fan of of "American Idol" when she agreed to become a Season 10 judge. She thought the role would be fun, but instead found it difficult to pass judgment on vulnerable performers.

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“As a fan of the shows, it doesn’t matter that I sing or I know anything about pitch … I’m like everybody else at home, so I thought I’m gonna represent those people at home that have opinions,” DeGeneres said. “But then I just thought, like Howard says, I can’t break this person’s heart. Let somebody else do that.”

DeGeneres was hired as a replacement judge after the departure of Paula Abdul, but she left just months later. "It didn’t feel like the right fit for me," she said at the time.