Simon Cowell quit “American Idol”

The promise of $36 million a year wasn’t enough to keep Simon Cowell from quitting American Idol which is what he did today at the TV Critics Assn. press tour. Simon will be departing the franchise that made him a household name in the US at the end of this season. He plans to launch an American version of The X Factor in 2011, a show which he created. He will executive produce and judge on the new series.

“I was offered a lot of money to stay on,” Cowell said. “But that wasn’t the reason behind it. I wanted to do something different. I wanted a new challenge.”

Cowell is obscenely rich so this is only a big deal for American Idol because without Simon, the show will probably die. No one wants to hear a bunch of clucking hens trying not to hurt contestants feelings. They want someone like Simon who slaps contestants across the face and asks why they’re crying. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to Idol next to Paula Abdul coming back and slurring her way through another season.