Rapper/disc jockey Angie Martinez discovered she wasn’t tough enough to be an “American Idol” judge.
Martinez, who was to join original judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul (news) and Randy Jackson for the Fox talent-search show’s second season, quit after the first few auditions.
It became “too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up on their dream, especially when I realized that many of them have supported my musical career,” Martinez said in a statement.
Fox will stick with a trio of judges and not fill Martinez’s slot, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The first edition of “American Idol,” with the acid-tongued Cowell offering blunt assessments of both would-be pop stars and his fellow judges, became a summer hit for Fox.
Texas cocktail waitress Kelly Clarkson (news) won out over 10,000 entrants, claiming a recording contract. Auditions for the new season started last week. No air date has been set.