Ellen DeGeneres & Simon: Friend or Foe?

The long awaited debut of Ellen Degeneres finally arrived this week on American Idol, and it delivered all the fun fans expected. Ellen was witty, snarky and surprisingly knowledgeable about music, and had some delicious run-ins with Simon Cowell.

Ellen DeGeneres said she found it hard to watch Simon Cowell get his mean on when berating the contestants for their poor singing performances in the Idol auditions. She said "It's hard to listen to him tell people things and for me not to go, `You poor thing!'"

When asked about her lack of music industry qualifications compared to other Idol judges, DeGeneres said to EW: " It's not like I'm not a huge fan of music. That accounts for something. I've also been on stage, alone, trying to entertain an audience. I started in stand-up for 15 years. I know how important it is to reach that audience. So I can put myself in their position. It's not necessarily singing, but it's keeping an audience captivated."

It remains to be seen whether Ellen can fill the void left by Paula Abdul, not to mention after this season when Simon leaves, but she is adding a nice touch of wit and flavor to the show so far!

Ellen DeGeneres & Simon
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Ellen DeGeneres, the newest judge on "American Idol," says Simon Cowell is "meaner" than she thought. Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi (KEHR'-uh dee-oh-GWAR'-dee) and various guest judges kicked off the ninth season of the Fox singing competition last month. DeGeneres begins her stint Tuesday night. In a video posted on the show's Web site, DeGeneres says Cowell is "actually meaner than I thought. It's hard to listen to him tell people things and for me not to go, `You poor thing!'"

Ellen DeGeneres & Simon