Britney Spears has rejected the $10 million offer she received to become a judge on "The X Factor" U.S., and she is reportedly demanding $20 million for the job. According to The Wrap, Spears said no to the $10 million offer around mid-February 2012. And instead of being a judge on "The X Factor," Spears is now considering doing a concert residency in Las Vegas because it pays much more money. "The X Factor" U.S. is seeking replacements for fired judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger. "The X Factor" executive producer Simon Cowell and Epic Records chairman/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid will remain as judges on the show in 2012. The replacements for Abdul and Scherzinger should be announced in April or May 2012. Here's some common-sense advice to "The X Factor" decision makers who are involved in these negotiations with Spears: Stop this madness. Walk away. "American Idol" and "The Voice" get much higher ratings than "The X Factor" U.S., and even those higher-rated shows don't pay their judges as much as Spears is reportedly asking. Cowell is the exception, according to TV Guide, he gets $75 million a year for "The X Factor" U.S., but that is because he is an executive producer and part owner of the show. The show's other judges are not producers or co-owners of "The X Factor".
It's not worth chasing after someone who is asking for more money than it is practical for "The X Factor" U.S. to spend on one judge; someone who is a disaster waiting to happen on live TV; and someone who is not wanted as an "X Factor" judge by about half of the TV viewers who have been talking about it on the Internet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "The X Factor" U.S. was willing to have Spears go through media training to prepare her to be a judge on the show. Spears is a celebrity who has been famous since the late 1990s. If she doesn't know how to handle herself in the media by now, that really shouldn't be "The X Factor's" problem. It's insane to pay someone the amount of money that Spears is asking for to be an "X Factor" judge if she's not capable at this point in her career of handling the media parts of the "X Factor" job. Go after someone who doesn't need to be hand-held like a beginner; someone who already has an appealing, TV-ready personality; someone who is much more affordable; and someone who isn't as polarizing as Spears. Stop hanging on to the delusion that "The X Factor" needs an A-list celebrity to be a judge on the show. Face this fact and get over it: "The X Factor" U.S. is not getting blockbuster ratings, so stop trying to act like A-lists stars should be flocking to "The X Factor" U.S. to be judges on the show. A-list music stars can make more money doing a month's worth of concerts than they can do a whole year as a judge on "The X Factor." This is a harsh reality check, but it's the truth about where "The X Factor" stands on the totem pole of financial opportunities for superstars.
"The X Factor" isn't going to lose viewers if the show doesn't get a superstar on the judges' panel. The show will lose viewers if it has judges with the wrong personalities and who lack the necessary skills/experience to be respected judges/mentors. No matter how much star power a celebrity has, if he or she wouldn't be able to handle Cowell's public insults, the judges fighting with each other, and all the pressures that come with being an "X Factor" judge, then that person is not right for the job. If Spears doesn't sign on as an "X Factor" judge, then the show and TV viewers should consider themselves lucky because they just dodged a train wreck.
