Randy Jackson Announces 'American Idol' Departure

All eyes may be on this season of American Idol, however the next has been dealt a devastating blow: the only original judge left on the panel, Randy Jackson, has announced that he is to leave the hit Fox show.

In a freshly released statement he wrote:

“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on American Idol I have decided it is time to leave after this season,” he says. “I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry. It’s been a life changing opportunity but I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures.” {Source}

Another one bites the dust. Anyone else feel like this might have something to do with all the Mariah rumors? In serving as her interim manager until recently, perhaps the drama surrounding her run on the show (see: Nicki Minaj, producers, J.Lo) was the straw that broke the camels back. Food for thought.