Abdul: "Idol" Had Her Stalker On For "Fun"

Paula Abdul says the Fox network and "American Idol" producers knew Paula Goodspeed had stalked her, and allowed the woman to audition for the show anyway.

"I said this girl is a stalker of mine and please do not let her in," Abdul said Monday during an interview with Barbara Walters on her Sirius XM radio show.

Goodspeed was found dead of an apparent suicide in a car near Abdul's home last month.

Abdul said "Idol" producers ignored her protests and brought Goodspeed on the show "for entertainment value."

"It's fun for them to cause me stress," Abdul said. "This was something that would make good television."

At the behest of producers, Goodspeed appeared on the show more than once, Abdul said.

Both Fox and Fremantle Media North America, which produces "American Idol," declined to comment Tuesday.

Abdul, 46, said Goodspeed had written her "disturbing letters" for nearly 18 years, some of which included naked pictures, and that she maintained a restraining order against the woman at times.

"It's very frightening," Abdul said in recounting for Walters the pleas she'd made. "Please do not let her in, and they let her in anyways."

The "American Idol" judge also accused Fox of making her home address public, although she added that Goodspeed found the place on her own after an audition: "She followed me home with her mom."

When Walters asked why Abdul remains on a show that put her in peril, Abdul replied: "I'm under contract."

This isn't the first controversy involving Abdul and "American Idol," points out Early Show National Correspondent Hattie Kauffman. Years ago, a contestant claimed he'd had an affair with the "Idol" judge, something she denied.

Abdul often appears ditzy or distracted on "Idol," Kauffman observed. She says it's because producers try to throw her off guard, and claims that's why they let an obsessed fan on the air.