Simon Cowell Discusses Terri Seymour Attack, "Idol" Finale

Two days after his ex-girlfriend, Terri Seymour, was attacked outside Los Angeles's Nokia Theater, the backdrop for the American Idol finale, Simon Cowell stopped by Ryan Seacrest's radio program to discuss the matter.

"She was attacked outside," Cowell told Seacrest, adding that he's still friendly with his former flame. "Literally, a frenzied attack. Nearly strangled. A hundred percent serious. She called me, and yeah, she was attacked outside."

Janice Thibodeaux, the woman behind the attack, has been charged with misdemeanor battery and assault. If convicted, she faces up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $12,000. Thibodeaux claims she attacked Seymour in retaliation for Cowell's lighthearted restraint of Paula Abdul during Idol two weeks ago.

Cowell said he thought it was a joke, at first. "Naturally, I assumed it was somebody who was jealous," Cowell said. "I don't know, it was just some crazy girl. She's locked up. It was bad. I really, really felt sorry for [Seymour]. You know what? I was there for her, Ryan. That's the important thing. And I always will be."

During the interview, Cowell compared Idol winner Kris Allen to "a little puppy dog," and said he didn't feel Allen was the best singer in the bunch. He added that he thought judge Kara DioGuardi, who flashed her bikini during the last episode, has a great body for a women "her age," and blasted the song she wrote for the Idol champ, "No Boundaries."

"How awful was that song? The song. Mountains, hurricanes, rivers, oceans," he lamented. "Its probably the most cliched song I've ever heard in my life. It's literally like 'The Moon in June.' "

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• Simon Cowell's Ex-Girlfriend Terri Seymour Assaulted After "American Idol" Show
• Paula Abdul Criticizes "American Idol" Producers For Allowing Stalker To Audition

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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