While Paula Abdul publicly congratulated Ellen DeGeneres on her new American Idol role, the former judge was reportedly stunned by the news.

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"Privately, Paula is very upset," a source told RadarOnline on Thursday.

"She's never going to admit it publicly but this stung. Paula likes Ellen and she doesn't want to say a negative word about her and she won't."

Fox announced on Wednesday that it had tapped DeGeneres to replace Abdul -- who last month used her Twitter page to announce that she would not be returning as a judge for the show's ninth season.

"I think Ellen will b a gr8 judge on Idol," wrote Abdul in a Twitter posting on Thursday.  "She is wildly funny, talented and I wish her the best of luck!"

While Abdul reportedly rejected a $5 million a year offer to continue serving on Idol's judging panel, she still apparently believed that "a last-minute deal" could be worked out, according to RadarOnline, which added by that time Fox executive had already "moved on."


About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.