Abdul Fan Found Dead Near Star's L.A. Home
A fan of Paula Abdul whose failed audition for "American Idol" aired in season five was found dead in a car near the home of the pop star and judge she admired, authorities said Wednesday.
Police indicated that Paula Goodspeed, whose rendition of "Proud Mary" was roundly criticized by Simon Cowell and rejected by Abdul and Randy Jackson, had possibly committed suicide, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. An official cause of death had not been determined.
Authorities found Goodspeed's body Tuesday evening in a car that photos show bearing the vanity license plate "ABL LV" in a Los Angeles Lakers frame. Her parents had reported her missing hours earlier and expressed concern that she might hurt herself.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman Julianne Sohn says officers responded to a call about 6 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in the Sherman Oaks area to find the body.
"I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday," Abdul said in a statement released by her publicist, Jeff Ballard. "My heart and prayers go out to her family."
Goodspeed's audition was aired during the season that began in January 2006. She told the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, how she was a huge fan of Abdul and created life-size paintings of the singer and former Laker Girl; she also called Abdul "beautiful" after Cowell said he noticed a resemblance between Goodspeed and Abdul.
But Cowell also made light of Goodspeed's braces and bloggers trashed her appearance, which she noted in a MySpace posting months after the show aired.
"American Idol" producer Fremantle Media North America declined comment.
Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said relatives hadn't seen the woman since about 11 p.m. on Monday and were concerned she might try to hurt herself. In June, the department checked on the woman at her home in Thousand Oaks after deputies received a tip from Los Angeles police that the woman might be at risk of self-harm, Bonfiglio said.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Police indicated that Paula Goodspeed, whose rendition of "Proud Mary" was roundly criticized by Simon Cowell and rejected by Abdul and Randy Jackson, had possibly committed suicide, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. An official cause of death had not been determined.
Authorities found Goodspeed's body Tuesday evening in a car that photos show bearing the vanity license plate "ABL LV" in a Los Angeles Lakers frame. Her parents had reported her missing hours earlier and expressed concern that she might hurt herself.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman Julianne Sohn says officers responded to a call about 6 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in the Sherman Oaks area to find the body.
"I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday," Abdul said in a statement released by her publicist, Jeff Ballard. "My heart and prayers go out to her family."
Goodspeed's audition was aired during the season that began in January 2006. She told the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, how she was a huge fan of Abdul and created life-size paintings of the singer and former Laker Girl; she also called Abdul "beautiful" after Cowell said he noticed a resemblance between Goodspeed and Abdul.
But Cowell also made light of Goodspeed's braces and bloggers trashed her appearance, which she noted in a MySpace posting months after the show aired.
"American Idol" producer Fremantle Media North America declined comment.
Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said relatives hadn't seen the woman since about 11 p.m. on Monday and were concerned she might try to hurt herself. In June, the department checked on the woman at her home in Thousand Oaks after deputies received a tip from Los Angeles police that the woman might be at risk of self-harm, Bonfiglio said.
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Even she admits that she was not vocally ready. Now why on earth would anyone try out for a singing competition on national television, and on the most watched entertainment show in the world, if you''re not "vocally ready". That just spells disaster for redicule. I''m not saying it''s right but you gotta know that blogs are going to say mean things about you. There are still plenty of mean kids in the playground that follow you into adulthood. A friend or family member should have said, "Honey, you ain''t ready for this competition."
Posted by Avigil2 at 02:28 PM : Nov 13, 2008
That was my point. They make money off of ridiculing people like her, regardless of how it may affect them. The fact that they (and obviously you) have no consideration of the consequences of that is what sickens me.
Decent people don''t do that.
BTW, I no longer bother to watch the show precisely for that reason.
Is the fabrication of "instant celebrity"!!! - Posted by valentin73
Then how do you explain great talents like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. All extremely successful talented young singers and one of them even has an Oscar!
I think it''''s pretty repulsive that this show is on the air anyway. - Posted by ofbyfor3
First of all, this is news because Paula Abdul is a public figure; a celebrity if you will. Secondly, if you find this show (American Idol) repulsive, change the channel or better yet, pop in a DVD from Netflix. Don''t blame AI for this young woman''s tragedy. She obviously was not mentally fit and had major personal problems.
That would be fine if the show didn''t seem to focus primarily on people who seem to be more than a little bit emotionally vulnerable and weak. People who may not have enough friends and family to say that this is probably NOT a really good idea.
Competition is fine, but the fact that they focus on making a spectacle of vulnerable people seems a little sick and cruel.
Why not just throw them to the lions? That''s what it reminds me of.
Is the fabrication of "instant celebrity"!!!
They ought cancel the (B)arn show altogether.
Enough of this superficial stardom baloney.
Now you have people committing suicide, Its becoming a problem, really. Where is hollywood going????
The reason they keep posting this type of story is because the get hits off it.
Every time you click on the story or make a post it increases the odds that they will continue to do stories like this because they look at the number of people reading it. If you don''t want to see these types of stories, don''t click on the story & certainly don''t make a post.