Simon Cowell's Ex-Girlfriend Terri Seymour Assaulted After "American Idol" Show

Extra correspondent Terri Seymour — also known as cantankerous American Idol judge Simon Cowell's ex-girlfriend — was assaulted and choked after the American Idol final performance episode last night in Los Angeles. A spokesperson for the LAPD tells E! Online that Seymour, 34, was approached outside the Nokia Theatre (where Idol is taped) by 33-year-old Janice Thibodeaux, who asked Seymour if she was Cowell's ex. When Seymour confirmed her identity, Thibodeaux grabbed hold of the TV host's neck and began choking her.

Thibodeaux was arrested and booked on felony battery charges, TMZ reports; she's being held on $52,700 bail. Seymour refused medical treatment and was escorted from the scene by police officers. Thibodeaux's siblings got in touch with TMZ to say their sister is "not crazy" and that her behavior outside the Idol taping — at which Adam Lambert and Kris Allen faced off for the Season Eight crown — was "way out of character."

Seymour and Cowell split in October, ending a relationship that began in 2002, but Seymour continues to interview Cowell on Extra about Idol. "It was Terri's idea [to break up], not Simon's," Cowell's rep, Max Clifford told Usmagazine.com in 2008. "Simon is doing all right, but they were together a long time and so you can understand that it's going to be a strange time."

Cowell is notorious for offering the show's most negative critique, and many audition episodes have shown angry contestants attempting to hit or throw drinks on him. This is evidently the first time being merely associated with Cowell has lead to physical violence, however.

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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