What's weird about this is that the investigation has taken so long. Either Abdul had an affair with Clark or she didn't.

"We've sat down with Paula. We've also sat down with Corey," Liguori said.

So — what's left to do?

"Talk to corroborating witnesses, etc.," Liguori said. "I don't want to get thoroughly into it. But truly, again, we want to make sure we're being thorough. The credibility of this competition to us can never be underestimated."

(He said it with a straight face.)

What's weirder still is the strange sexual double standard that's in play here. If male judges Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson had an affair with a female contestant, do you think the investigation would have taken this long? Do you think Fox would even be considering letting one of them stay on the show under those circumstances?

Of course not.

Credibility? "American Idol"? Even putting those two in the same paragraph is hard to do with a straight face.

---

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com