Paula Abdul Officially Out On 'X Factor' As Network Executives Wish Her Well Paula Abdul is officially out of the next season of the "X Factor," following in the footsteps of host Steve Jones and fellow judge Nicole Scherzinger. In a statement to Fox411, Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting said: We love Paula. She is a remarkable talent and we appreciate all of her contributions," said Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. We're lucky that she is a part of the FOX family, and we look forward to working with her again soon. It was just the latest in the bloodbath going on behind the scenes at the hit show. Apart from the show's untouchable producer and star Cowell, the departure of Abdul, Scherzinger and Jones would leave only judge L.A. Reid. Abdul's exit has been widely reported, but not confirmed by the network. Simon Cowell thanked his fellow judges and offered praise for their work together. I want to say a massive thank you to Paula, Nicole and Steve for being part of The X Factor last year. We had a lot of fun making the show together and importantly, we found some real talent and stars," he said in a statement. You do develop friendships with the people you work with and Paula, in particular, is a very close friend and I expect to be working with her on another project in the near future. I'm sure all three are going to have massive success in what they do next , but now is the time to thank them all for everything they did last year.