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Simon Cowell's Ex Attacked After 'American Idol'

Posted May 20th 2009 9:02AM by TMZ Staff

We've learned Terri Seymour -- Simon Cowell's ex -- was assaulted after attending the "American Idol" finale last night.

It happened at L.A. Live -- a complex that includes the Nokia Theatre where "A.I." was taped. A 33-year-old woman walked up to Terri, asked if she was Simon's girlfriend. The suspect allegedly attacked her and attempted to choke her.

The suspect -- Janice Thibodeaux -- was booked on felony battery. She's being held on $52,700 bail.

We're told Terri refused medical treatment. She was escorted out of the complex by three cops.

Just found out Thibodeaux is twice Terri's size, weighing in at 200 lbs.

UPDATE -- TMZ spoke with Thibodeaux's brother and sister who told us Janice is "not crazy" and this is "way out of character" for her.

Tags: american idol, AmericanIdol, nokia theatre, NokiaTheatre, simon cowell, SimonCowell, terri seymour, TerriSeymour, video

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(Page 5 of 5) Previous 15 Comments

61. Why are there more and more crazy people every day!?
Simon's ex's voice is enough to drive anyone off the deep end though!
To boot someone gave her a job with that voice.

Posted at 2:57PM on May 21st 2009 by TorontoPerezFan

62. How can you hate someone you don't know? Have you ever met this lady? How can you call names if you never met her?
Don't believe everything you read or gossip you've heard.

Posted at 10:10AM on May 22nd 2009 by Pennie2742

63. PRINCIPLES OF IDOLATRY - The American Idol Fan-tasy.
Well, were you surprised? The new American Idol Winner is Kris Allen! If you weren't prepared for this outcome, then perhaps you haven't been a longtime viewer of the program, or perchance you haven't parented teenagers yet! Let's just review the Principles:

1. Clearly Adam Lambert was the most accomplished ARTIST of this group - in fact, it's not too much of a stretch to say the he was probably the most talented of all of the contestants who have ever set foot on the American Idol stage.

2. It happens every year; as the field of competitors becomes smaller, so the bias of the voting public becomes larger. And who is the typical Idol voter? Pre-teens? Teeners? or Tweens? Is it Youth? It's certainily not Me - th! (You won't find any Macho Men frantically fingering flippable phones will you? Surely not!) Could it be just Little Old Ladies?

3. If you look at the age demographic for Idol, you can't miss the fact that it dominates the 18 to 49 group, I'll give you one guess at the average age of that viewer-group's digitally diligent dialers...

Reality check, females voted 44% more text votes than males last year, and this year is not likely to be much different. You can bet it's not the upper end of this demographic who are voting either, you don't find 30 somethings throwing money away by multiple voting on a TV show, and apparently, this group vote an average of 38 times each! Is it too much of a stretch to realise that we - the frustrated elder (wiser?) viewership - are subject to the voting whims of young girls in the full flush of infatuation? Isn't that why poor Allison - despite her considerable and really quite remarkable talent - didn't have a hope against "baby face" Kris, and (for now) androgynous Adam?

Was the Judges' opportunity to overturn the vote, earlier in this year's contest, instituted because the voting public had been making such good, rational decisions in the past?

4. The process is also compromised, one suspects, by misguided voting aimed at upsetting the predictions of Judges who are perhaps thought to be of "the older generation". The quartet of "What Do They Know" -it-alls. Reactionary, anti-the-obvious-choice, determined to show the ubiquitous "them" who's really in charge teenage angst! It just oozes from the process doesn't it?

5. The final vote - for all that - means much less than many of the earlier ones. Does anyone doubt that if we, the poor Plebes of Entertainment Land, can clearly see where the talent is, the Music Moguls can see it also? And what of that first placed contestant? If you were to ask the 2006 4th placed Doughtry, he would probably tell you that first place isn't what it's really about.

6. Despite the "Big Business" accusations, the fact is, we watch it - in the hundreds of millions - we watch it. In Nielsen ratings, Idol's Tuesday and Wednesday viwership is almost double that of it's nearest competitor - and for the most part we are entertained. Some of us are even sufficiently stirred and stimulated to write a blog about it, and all of it entertains.

7. The truely talented - with the exposure obtained - will gain the attention of those who promote and manage the stars of tomorrow, and for a season, they will receive the rewards that popularity brings. Most will fade, as the limits of their individual talents are reached, and made apparent to a fickle public. A few - and I suspect that in the realm of contemporary music, Adam Lambert IS one of the few - will go on to become, as one of the Judges put it, Iconic.

Idolatry, when you come right down to it, is not about Winners and Losers, is it? And it's not so much about the Object, as it is about the Subject... it says far more about us - the idolators - than it does about the object of our affections. Idolatry is, after all, really about worship. Not true worship however; by definition, idolatry is about worshipping the wrong things. Now, doesn't that so nicely describe the process which brought about yesterdays results on American Idol?

Tell me what you think - I'm Tel Mack,
Telling it Like I See it.