Talk:Paula Abdul/Archive 1

Archive 1

Too much praise

Someone who is a big Paula Abdul fan has obviously visited this page and altered it's phrasing in a non-neutral way. "Extremely talented singer..." etc... I am making some changes and reversions. Pacian 18:44, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Fanboys continue to get into the article and fill it with flattering non-NPOV comments. I'm reverting AGAIN. Pacian 17:19, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Well, I rewrote many aspects of the article to remove such wording, and so far, it looks like the subsequent editors like Wasted Time R are continuing to improve the article, so don't worry about it. Trolls and vandals tend to eventually get tired and move on. Nightscream 09:24, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

Sephardi?

Is Paula Abdul Sephardi or Mizrahi? —Ashley Y 02:26, 2005 Apr 13 (UTC)

Who cares? A jew is a jew is a jew. Shes a jew. face it. 24.141.214.87 20:24, 2 May 2005 (UTC).

Usually if a Jew is indigenous to an Arab country, s/he is a Mizrahi.

Sephardim, strictly speaking, are Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin, including their descendants in many parts of the world after they were expelled from the Iberian peninsula in 1492. Most fled to Turkey, the Balkans, the Netherlands and the Americas, but some Sephardim also fled to Arab countries (especially Morocco) where they joined pre-existing local native Mizrahi communities. So sometimes, Jews from Arab countries could be Sephardic.

In the case of Moroccan Jews, most Maroccan Jews are Sephardic, not Mizrahi, because the number of Sephardim that fled to that country (due to its proximity to Spain) outnumbered the native Mizrahi Jews. Because of their numbers they set up their own communities. In Paula's case, however, her country of origin is Syria, and although a few Sephardim did settle there, her surname is Abdul, which is obviously Arabic in origin. Sephardim possess Spanish or Portuguese surnames (Díez, Villarreal, Castro, etc), much like Ashkenazim possess German, Polish and other Easter European surnames (Bernheimer, Furstenberg, Steinovitz, etc.).

Paula's appearance is another factor. Although it hasn’t been suggested by anyone, her appearance is obviously not typical of Ashkenazi Jews (White Northern and Eastern European appearance) nor Beta Israel Jews (Black Ethiopian appearance), but her phenotype isn’t typical of Sephardim either (Southern European appearance). She looks indigenous Middle Eastern, a "brown Jew". Personally, her appearance is such that, I think she could even pass for a mulatta, much like many other Arabs.

My bet is that she is Mizrahi. Perhaps whoever wrote that she is Sephardic was using the term in its ignorant euro-centric Israeli definition- anyone that isn't Ashkenazi is called "Sephardi", chuck-'em-all-in-the-same-basket attitude.

As for user "24.141.214.87", and his/her addition of "Who cares? A jew is a jew is a jew. Shes a jew. face it.", I have only one word for you; Whatever! Al-Andalus 17:02, 17 August 2005 (UTC).

Two thoughts.

First, it is certainly true that historically and most accurately Sephardic refers to Jews descended from those Jews who left what is now Spain and Portugal, especially due to the Inquisition. But there are two main problems with your assertion. One is that the broader use of Sephardic to refer to most Jews whose families' histories have in the last 500 years coincided with Arab or Muslim territories is well-established, and not controversial. The other is that the family histories of "Syrian" (Shami) Jews do in many cases tend to have included modern-day Spain or Portugal, due in large part to the migration of Sephardic Jews to Syria post-Inquisition and their gradual integration into the community there. This is well-documented, but see http://www.jewishgen.org/SefardSIG/AleppoJews.htm for a sample discussion. (As it happens, many Ashkenazi Jews also became absorbed into the Syrian Jewish communities over the centuries, hence the prevalence of the names Ashkenazi, Eskenazi, etc among Syrian Jews, signifying a forebear who had come to Syria as an Ashkenazi Jew. But that is another story!)

In light of this, in order to recognize the correctness of Al-Andalus's point re: it not being possible to pinpoint a "Sephardic Jewish" origin to the family in question, and in order therefore to adopt a neutral point of view, I have edited that part of the article to simply say "Syrian Jew". Those who wish to classify Syrian Jews more precisely will have to work out their disagreement, and the tangled roots of history, before being able to subclassify further: I trust this will be satisfactory to all.

Second, and this is an aside, I believe it to be factually incorrect to talk about an appearance being "typical" of Ashkenazi Jews insofar as there is great diversity in the appearance of Ashkenazi Jews. I similarly believe it to be incorrect to lump Northern (presumably Western) and Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews together, particularly regarding the kinds of amtters discussed here (see Sander Gilman's work generally on the historic relationship between Ostjuden and Western Jews) -- this is a post-WW2 construct which is unhelpful in this context. And I believe it incorrect to talk about "White ... appearance" due, again, to the diversity in Ashkenazi Jews and, of course, in that of other ethnic groups who may or may not fit with the U.S construct "White" (Italians, Lebanese, Greeks, etc).

I don't know the references in this biography but any arguments based on her surname are moot if, in fact, her father Harry Abdul was adopted in Syria. I mean, does anyone try to argue that Donovan McNabb is Irish? (Not that he was adopted, but last name ethnologies are a silly pastime) And if her mother was French and Jewish, that normally means Ashkenazi, so I think it's safe to say she is both. JesseRafe 03:57, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

I wanted to add that I was confused at the part of this article that says she is of Sephardic and Ashkenazic heritage, yet she is not mixed-race. No, she's not part black, but being both Sephardic and Ashkenazic would make her a racially mixed Jew.

George Lucas

According to these very reliable music video database sites, George Lucas did NOT direct the video for "Rush Ruch". A man name Stephan Wuernitzer did:

Music Video Database [1] [2] Clipland [3]

This misnomer seems to stem from his page on imdb [4] and it has spread over the internet. But Wuernitzer also has his own credit [5]. Judging from the fact that Wuernitzer has other non-Star Wars related music video credits [6], I believe it will be proper to remove Lucas's name from this aritcle. MrBlondNYC 10:57, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Mohammed Abdul

Do you think we should add an in popular culture section with him in it? - Malomeat 23:51, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Even though this is kinda off topic can someone help the new list of best-selling remix albums worldwide with its structure.

Father's ancestry

• I don't think her mother is actually French in any way. She's from Winnipeg. Her last name is Rykiss, a common East European Ashkenazi surname. I'm not sure why she was called "French Canadian" - maybe she comes from a French-speaking area of Winnipeg, or her parents were some of the East European Jews who immigrated to Quebec? But I would doubt that they are French Jews.
• My question is, though, do we know for sure that her father is Jewish at all? Even by adoption? No question that her mother is, but even the editor of Jewhoo, who originally said her father was Jewish, changed his mind. See this [7]:

"It would be interesting to see if Paula Abdul, whose career revived as a judge on “American Idol,” would be a no-show if the American version fell on a High Holy Day. Abdul has hardly spoken about being Jewish, but it seems most Jews know she is. Her mother is from a Canadian Jewish family. Bio profiles leave it unclear whether her father is a Sephardic Jew or a Syrian non-Jew. However, in a radio interview, Abdul told an L.A. rabbi that “she’s Jewish” and that she “believes in God.” "

• Does anyone know for sure? I mean a good reference like an interview or something? I'm beginning to think that she's only Jewish on her mother's side. Vulturell 07:58, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

"*Does anyone know for sure? I mean a good reference like an interview or something? I'm beginning to think that she's only Jewish on her mother's side. Vulturell 07:58, 13 February 2006 (UTC)"

Judaism is only from the mother side, does not matter if the father isn't jewish, he could be anything else, but only the mother side counts, that's just the way it is... Your mother is a Jew = U R A JEW (= --80.230.141.57 19:13, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Well sure, that may be true for her official acceptance into certain Jewish denominations (and obviously, not all), but it has nothing to do with her biographical article, or whether or not her father is a Sephardic Jew or not. Vulturell 01:05, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

The reason why if your mom's a jew, then you're a jew, is because your mother could have been having an affair with someone else, not because "that's just the way it is".

For anyone interested, you can see pictures of Paula's parents and sister here and here. Crumbsucker 13:25, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

And she has said it herself - [8] - both her parents are Jewish. Mad Jack 05:35, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Personal life

"Although Abdul is Jewish[6][7] Abdul's publicist attributed this to technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews." This statement makes no sense, her publicist attributes "what" to technical difficulties, her being jewish?! 71.68.227.176 03:18, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Now they call her "Latino"?

The news media always been inaccurate on celebrities' ethnic and national origin, in the case of Paula Abdul. OK now, she's first "Black American", then "Arab American", next "American Jewish" and now "American Latino" as in her Latin American roots. I've known many Hispanics in Southern Cal. identify with her, but anyone who read her biography should know (why would we care?) she isn't Chicana, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Spanish or otherwise relate to Spain. I guess her hometown San Fernando is renowned for a large Mexican American community, but don't make Paula Abdul (or another local Miss Julie Brown despite an expert would research this ethno-genealogical stuff on her "Californio" background) qualify as a "Mexican". There's no reference available on Wikipedia to confirm that, next thing you know someone wants to make her an "Asian American", "Italian American", "German American" or "WASP" or "Cherokee" or "Australian" that's fine by me. I thought in Hollywood the issue of race or color is no big deal, but to demonstrate the abilities and talents of many individuals are as diverse and the doors are open for them. +

Paula is of a phenotype that people in the racially ignorant USA are not familiar with. Therefore, they tended in the beginning to lump her in with the usual multi-ethnic label, which would be "black." She's really a form of creole. JBDay 17:01, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Which is typically labeled as black.--71.235.94.254 16:09, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Straightup.jpg

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If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. BetacommandBot 20:49, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

PLEASE FIX THIS ARTICLE!

I normally don't shout, but I think it's necessary: this article needs a lot of "fixin.'" For instance, first the article says Paula Abdul's father was an "African-American" from Brazil of Sephardic Jewish ancestry, then -- as you read down the page -- it turns around and says she's "not Black" and denies this by precisely saying that she and both of her parents are "Jewish" (and providing all manner of testimonials to that "fact.") Not only has this article blatantly contradicted itself (is she partially of African descent or isn't she?) but the distinction implicit in saying she's-Jewish-therefore-not-Black is quite racist (and, indeed, very offensive.) The Beta Israel are both Jewish and of African descent (and have been since the time of King Solomon, thank you), the Lemba people also (and their DNA proves this, at least as far as their Kohanim.) Professor Lewis Gordon(at Temple University), as well, is also a Black Jew -- and (please correct me if I'm wrong) descended from Sephardim who settled in the West Indies during the 18th century. Judaism is a religion, not a race, and hopefully wiki editors will take this into account in the future. It's one thing for Paula Abdul herself to deny any African descent she might have -- America is still a "free country" and she can identify as anything she pleases -- but quite another for a wiki editor to deny such descent using discredited, racist, distinctions which would serve to demean people of the same faith as Ms. Abdul. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mazallen (talk • contribs) 05:18, 28 February 2007 (UTC).

The origin of the Beta Israel is a matter of much debate and controversy, and many scholars believe that they have a very tenuous historical connection to the rest of world Jewry. But it is not uncommon to find Jews from the Middle East (especially Yemen) who look almost black, as do many Arabs from the same areas. You could hypothesize that Paula Abdul does have a remote African ancestor somewhere in her past, but it doesn't change the fact that in terms of ethnic background, she is 100% Jewish. We can't justifiably call her "African-American" unless she has known black roots; speculation due to a subjective assessment of her physical features isn't sufficient. marbeh raglaim 16:19, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Jewish is a religion, not an ethnicity. Know this before you try to be an educator. Also, anyone with the title "African-AMerican" despite appearance, is some how seen physically as black but the rules change when peoples are from any place outside of the designated area that whites want blacks to be from. Black people and even the white people know who is black and who is not. All of this race-mixing between different types of whites and blacks in America gives most other forms of peoples (hispanics, middle-easterners, so-called berbers) as the result. If famous bi-racial people (like Abul) had names from others areas, then you people would try to take them away from black people and bring them into another people who are (wrongfully) assumed white. Just look at the singer Sade for a strong example of what I write.--71.235.94.254 16:20, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

And her date of birth is currently quoted as both 18 June and 19 June - which is correct ?! Derek R Bullamore 21:34, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Beta Israel are not "black" in the sense the Afrocentrics would have it. Their historical connections are with the rest of the Eastern Mediterraenean, not SSWest Africa where the Negroid peoples originated. They are certainly not related to the hip-hopping BN racial fascists who try and steal their culture and history as well as genetics. Call BI "Eastern Sfaradim," that is very, very accurate. JBDay 17:09, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

They are black. The white controlled Israeli government treats them as such and they call themseves black as well as most Ethipoians. It appears as if you whtie supremacists keep overstepping your European boundaries and keep infesting the internet with your BS. Now you want to revist the old belief on calling Ethipoians whites. I guess it is a part of a master plan to keep African-Americans down, but Ethiopians (unlike many Northern Sudanese and some Somalis) proudly proclaim their blackness. Concentrate on Europe.--71.235.94.254 16:20, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Such utter stupidity! There is no "white" race and there is no "black" race. "Israel" is controlled by ZIONISTS, not "whites." No, the world will not give in to those who persist in the indefensible division of humanity in continents. As for Ethiopeans, they are Caucasian, not Negroid. They are historically Indo-Persians in every way possible. There is no African race, and there never will be. ANY form of "supremacist" is the same. Sorry, "Europe" as anything other than a piece of land does not exist except as the insane ravings of Crusaders and fans of Kipling, along with WN/Nazis. Of course, BNs believe in continents as human demarcations as the Nazi/WNs do. By the way, the so-called Black Hebrews are helping Sharon and his clique to further exterminate Palestinians. Again,"White" is a descriptive term, not a race. JBDay (talk) 01:13, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

I've just watched the Paula Abdul biography on the Biography Channel. I don't know much about Paula Abdul - just heard the name before I watched the bio on the Biography Channel. All I can say is, it was like they were talking about two different people. Where are things such as the airplane crash in the Iowa cornfield?, etc? LOTS of stuff missing from this Wikipedia entry (if the Biography Channel is correct).

Paula Abdul Jabar

Everyone is telling me that Paula was known as "Paula Abdul Jabar" at one point, although I haven't found any sources saying that's true, and it isn't shown on Wikipedia. Is it true? If so, shouldn't it be added to Wikipedia under "birth name" or something? Rhythmnation2004 21:10, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if Jabar was her original last name or not, but it cannot be "Abdul". Abdul is an Arabic preposition meaning "Servant of" that is the beginning a traditional Arabic family name, followed by one of the 99 names of God. Thus "Abdul-lah" or "Abdur-rahman" (the "l" ellides). Either her father or she dropped the last part of her family name, which works fine if they like it, but is a preposterous grammar mistake. Something should be mentioned about this.

98.204.179.62 (talk) 17:10, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Involvement with Tom Cruise

Is there any online evidence supporting the concept that Paula Abdul was ever romantically involved with, or married to, Tom Cruise? I believe this to be true, but can find no corroboration of this anywhere online. 67.86.247.58 (talk) 04:18, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

In researching this, I cannot find any references to an involvement with Tom Cruise. She was, however, married to Emilio Estevez, briefly, in the early-1980s. Could this be what you were thinking of? Toropop (talk) 11:57, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Image

I have replaced old, outdated picture with a new valid image.User:Bporter28 11:57, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

I have removed the image since it is clearly a copyrighted image - its a publicity still published in a magazine. It is a copyright violation and does not have a fair use rationale. Indeed no fair use rationale could be written to use that image since we already have a free alternative. Please do not replace that image in the article. Thanks, Gwernol 01:32, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Paula Abdul as an Arab-American

Thought that I'd let you all know that it gets more complicated: A few sites tout her as an Arab-American:

• http://www.jerusalemites.org/facts_about_arabs/1.htm
• http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/05/paula_abdul_voi.html
• http://www.arabtoronto.com/starofthemonth/paulaabdul/
• http://www.alhewar.com/CaseyKasem.htm Dogru144 19:54, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

that song is Karma She made it a while ago for an album that never got relised but is making a new album that should come out next year...or somthing like that :) I love Paula!

Jews haven't been Arabs for 3500 years. Before that, maybe. :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.91.98.31 (talk) 07:12, August 27, 2007 (UTC)

Juadism is the religion. Arab is the ethnic group. Kransky (talk) 12:29, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Correct, her father is a Syrian-born Jew. Syria is an Arab country. There are Muslims, Christians, Jews, and people of other religions, from Arab countries. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.242.156.148 (talk) 04:50, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

The idea that a Jew can also be an Arab is controversial but not unheard of. See the Wikipedia article on Arab Jew for further discussion of this issue. Still, it's almost a moot point. I have seen Paula Abdul referred to as Arab American on a number of occasions, but I believe it is a simple mistake based on people inferring her ancestry from her surname. I haven't seen anyone use the term "Arab American" when referring to other celebrities of Syrian Jewish ancestry (Jerry Seinfeld, Dan Hedaya, etc.). marbeh raglaim (talk) 09:02, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Abdulmatic.com

Some anon keeps spamming Abdulmatic.com as the name of her 2008 album. --Erroneuz1 (talk) 07:23, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, an IP has been spamming this article daily for about the past 2-3 weeks (as well as occasional spamming of Randy Jackson). The IP has just gotten a two-week block, and if spamming continues after release of block the length will be increased. So I think the problem has been dealt with. --Jaysweet (talk) 14:11, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Yahoo! "report" about Abdul's vocal range

I removed text saying that a Yahoo! "report" said that Abdul's singing sucks and that she has only a half-octave vocal range. It was not cited, but a little googling and I can only assume it is referring to this.

First of all, that is a blog, so it is not a reliable source and I felt within my rights to remove the text on that basis alone. Furthermore, though, if you'll indulge my original research for a moment here, nobody has a half-octave vocal range, unless maybe they've had a frikkin' tracheotomy or something. I am pretty sure that Ms. Parker, the blog's author, meant to say "octave-and-a-half vocal range", an allegation which I have seen at other sources (e.g. here, but not this is not reliable either, so please don't add it! I am merely pointing out that this is probably what Ms. Parker meant).

An octave-and-a-half makes a lot more sense. That is still piss-poor for an actual singer (my friends agree that I can barely sing, and my vocal range is actually slightly more than an octave-and-a-half, for example), but it at least makes sense. A person with a half-octave range would barely be able to speak expressively, and say what you want about Abdul's judging skills on American Idol, but inexpressive she ain't.

So this is a good demonstration of why we don't use blogs. Not only was this an opinion piece, but in her zeal to slam Abdul, Ms. Parker, while attempting to be factual, got her numbers wrong by a factor of three. Even when a blog is repeating what the blogger believes to be a "fact," it is just not trustworthy. --Jaysweet (talk) 13:24, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

18 year old image?!

why does it say "eats monkeys for breakfast in the 1980's????

This is a bit absurd. An almost 2-decade outdated image of Paula?! --Erroneuz1 (talk) 09:00, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Possible vandalism

Removed reference to Paula supposedly "farting" during her Super Bowl half-time duet as it was tacked on to the end of the "Substance Abuse Allegations" section and did not include a citation. It appears to be vandalism.--Strmmrgrrl 17:03, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it stinks ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.243.45.71 (talk) 18:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Doesn't make sense

"Although actually of Sephardic (through her father) and Ashkenazi (through her mother) Jewish descent, Abdul bears an Arabic surname and is commonly thought by the public to be of African-American or mixed-race descent."

How would having an Arabic surname make people think she is 'African American

Perhaps because of the African-Americans who are Muslims and take Muslim/Arabic names. Rlevse 18:44, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Many radical African-American racialists, such as Erica "Badu", cling desperately to some non-existent association between Islamic/Arabic culture and the Sub-Saharan/West African peoples from which most African-Americans descend. This falsehood has largely been perpetuated by lunatics like Elijah "Mohamed" and Louis "Farakhan". In reality, the phenotypical composition of the Arabian Penninsula is largely Semitic-Caucasian with some Aethiopian mixture, particularly in the southern region, however this is largely irrelevent; orthodox Islam has always been a faith open to all peoples and was never intended to be hijacked to support an hatefully exclusionist and fact-loathing ideology like the Nation of "Islam".

You seem well informed. But the negroid element is not purely ethiopid. The term Habashi is indeed a corruption of the term Habesha, but it was used to refer to all negroid groups, including the Nilotic/Bantuid types of East Africa. I believe there is even a Sudanic element in Southern Arabia, particularly in Oman. I could be wrong though, physiology is not a good determinant of one's sub-race. Anyway, the largest concentration of sub-Saharan DNA (in the Middle East) is located in Yemen. The degree is less extensive elsewhere, though Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries exhibit a much higher rate than regions like the Levant and Mesopotamia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.194.104.5 (talk) 19:59, 17 February 2007 (UTC).

Another thing that doesn't make sense: in the "Early Life" section of "Biography" it says her dad is African American, but the "Personal Life" section negates this. Any one know what's true?--Madame C 14:15, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree, is she or isn't she part black? This article is inconclusive at best. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.52.160.123 (talk) 20:08, 26 February 2007 (UTC).

SHe is part black. Just by the countries involved and her appearnce show that. Besides, she never said that she was not. ALso, there are a LOT of clearly black people in Arabia. The rest are mulattoes. VERY few are what you would label as white.--71.235.94.254 16:07, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

What does appearance have to do with anything? If she's Sephardic, of course she's going to look a little brown; doesn't mean she's of African descent. Madame C (talk) 05:28, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Many sloppy subjective comments

The mezzo-soprano attribution is circular. Follow the footnote and the "authoritative site" is something reproducing Wikipedia excerpts. I don't think that anyone involved in voice would classify Abdul's pop music this way.

Later, this comment "...embraced advertising" appears. What kind of nonsense is that? I'm sure that the recording artist with the multiple platinum releases had been involved in advertising. If this was her first major brand spot unrelated to her music or dance career, perhaps it would be best to rephrase this?

In the HIATUS section, someone writes that the Greatest Hits release sold 1 million copies, but was "not a commercial success". That's exactly one measure of success the RIAA uses.

The American Idol section has the pithy "Abdul won praise as a sympathetic and compassionate judge. She seemed especially kind compared to fellow judge Simon Cowell, who was often very blunt in his appraisals of the contestants' performances. When she realized that Cowell's over-the-top judging style was heartbreaking for many young contestants..." -- unsourced nonsense.

The comment about I'm Just Here For The Music says that Paula Abdul released the track to iTunes. In this industry, music companies, not artists, typically release music to distribution channels.

Finally, La Costa, just outside San Diego is a luxury hotel property, not a rehab clinic. This is like reading a gossipy email. I have no intention of fixing the errors, but if Wikipedia is to keep any ground it's gained in the past, there needs to be organizational initiatives to stop this awful type of writing from appearing in an "encyclopedia" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.196.212.147 (talk) 23:54, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Birth year

Her birth date is completely wrong in this article. She is about 4-5 years older. Check the dates of resume/school years. She could not have been born in 1962. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.81.195.53 (talk) 15:55, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Age

Her birth date is completely wrong. Check the years of her resume. She is about 4-5 years older. She could not have been born in 1962 - more like 1957-1958. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.81.195.53 (talk) 15:58, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Plane accident?

I'm wondering why there is no information on here about the plane crash that Paula was involved in in 1993. I hadn't heard about the accident until recently, when she did an interview for the MJ Morning Show and briefly discussed it. The interview can be heard at [9], if anyone is interested. But I do think that this is an important enough event in her life that it should be at the very least mentioned in the article. --69.205.191.64 (talk) 23:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I'm wondering why there was no mention of this alleged plane crash at the time she says it happened. In fact, a search of the words "Paula Abdul" + "plane crash" brings up only articles where she, herself, mentions this in various interviews, starting about the year 2006. Even a search of the FAA website lists no crashes even remotely similar to the one Abdul describes in the aforementioned interviews. Without corroboration from a reliable news source, for example, I changed this part of the article to reflect is as an unsubstatiated claim. 03:55, 12 July 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zelmia (talk • contribs)

Set to leave American Idol

I heard from a recent news that according to Paula's new manager there is no contract renewal for her at American Idol which means next month, August(the start of Americanl Idol Season 9 Auditions) she may not be returning to American Idol as a judge :( . Is this true? Blueknightex (talk) 03:22, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

It's true. According to the article she demanded Idol to triple her salary to $12m per year. They told her to get stuffed, and good riddance I reckon. As if resurrecting her career and flogging her line of jewellery weren't enough. JQ (talk) 00:39, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Brazilian-American?

Paula Abdul is hardly Brazilian American. Her father was born in Syria, her mother is Canadian. Her father only lived in Brazil awhile before moving to the U.S., but as Paula herself was not born or raised in Brazil, and neither of the parents were born in Brazil, she has no Brazilian ancestry. She has Syrian and Canadian ancestry and the coincidence that at one point one of her parents lived in Brazil for a while. My dad lived in Russia for a while, I don't claim to be part Russian.

I, don't know, but to me someone who is Brazilian Americans actually has to have some real Brazilian heritage; either born there, lived there a significant amount of time, or had their parents born there (none of which apply to Paula Abdul)--and no, self identifying over a ludicrous claim doesn't count. If I start calling myself Japanese because I like Japanese culture, I wouldn't be a Japanese-American. 24.190.34.219 (talk) 14:05, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Gay Icon Project

In my effort to merge the now-deleted list from the article Gay icon to the Gay icons category, I have added this page to the category. I engaged in this effort as a "human script", adding everyone from the list to the category, bypassing the fact-checking stage. That is what I am relying on you to do. Please check the article Gay icon and make a judgment as to whether this person or group fits the category. By distributing this task from the regular editors of one article to the regular editors of several articles, I believe that the task of fact-checking this information can be expedited. Thank you very much. Philwelch 19:58, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Why would she be a part of the "Gay Icon" project? She's not gay... 131.30.121.23 17:15, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Few gay icons are gay... wow. 98.168.192.162 (talk) 17:15, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Brazilian

Paula Abdul's father, Harry Abdul, is a Syrian Jew who was born in Syria, raised in Brazil, and subsequently emigrated to the U.S. Badagnani (talk) 21:09, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Truth be told this hardly makes Paula Abdul Brazilian American. Her father was born in Syria, her mother is Canadian. Her father only lived in Brazil awhile before moving to the U.S., but as Paula herself was not born or raised in Brazil, and neither of the parents were born in Brazil, she has no Brazilian ancestry. She has Syrian and Canadian ancestry and the coincidence that at one point one of her parents lived in Brazil for a while. My dad lived in Russia for a while, I don't claim to be part Russian.24.190.34.219 (talk) 14:03, 25 September 2009 (UTC

I second that! How on Earth is she in the category, Brazilian American? She hasn't a single drop of Brazilian blood or has lived there herself. To claim that she is Brazilian just because her father lived there for a while is ludicrous! Shakira's father was BORN in L.A., the article on her even states that for a while she lived with relatives there when her parents had finacial problems and she is not listed as Colombian American. Notconnectedtome (talk) 19:56, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Lip sync controversey

Does anyone know about the validity of claims she lip synched many of her songs? Rlevse 23:45, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about lip synching, but wasn't there a back-up singer that claimed she and not Paula sang on Paula Abdul's albums in the 80s? Yvette Marine, maybe?TJLink 08:18, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, Paula Abdul took a lot of flak for having her voice twinned with that of another singer, who had come forward insisting on a bigger share of the money and recognition. Paula apparently sang the tracks listening to the other woman's track (which is fairly close to Abdul's), and the producers merged them on the album to sound like a single singer (though you can hear it if you listen carefully). She also apparently had been lip-syncing on tour, and when this came up, she actually sang on tour and got roundly got panned for having a terrible voice and very limited range. I wonder why this is not in the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.26.52.125 (talk) 14:47, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

The lawsuit was decided in Paula Abdul's favor. The rest is just made up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.184.76.241 (talk) 17:07, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

What is Paula Abdul's real full name? Abdullah? Abdulrahman? Muslim?

As someone mentioned here before, it cannot simply be "Abdul". It has to be Abdul-[fill in the blank]

Isn't the Abdul-[god] naming system a Muslim tradition?

Does anyone know why did she changed her name from Lipshitz to some incomplete Arab name? Did she just randomly pick "Abdul" as a surname? 66.65.92.10 (talk) 23:22, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Her father is syrian Miss-simworld (talk) 15:34, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

vandalism

The legal issues section has obviously been vandalized. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.65.208.91 (talk) 23:23, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

does what is basically a tv appearance belong in the personal life section?

Does "On Valentine's Day 2006, Abdul appeared on Dr. Phil as part of a prime time special on love and relationships. She was set up on two dates, and Phil McGraw gave her advice." belong in this article? I mean, seriously, does anyone think this is part of her personal life as opposed to a tv appearance? Trudyjh (talk) 06:50, 3 June 2012 (UTC)

The "Controversies" section

I just cured the two "citation needed" thingies in both the sub-parts of the "Controversies" section (there was on in each); and I've also added another supporting citation in the middle of the sentence of the first sub-section which had the "citation needed" at its end. They're good cites... nothing circular; all are authoritative.

I also broke the Corey Clark sub-section into a second paragraph... mostly because it needed it both visually (in terms of it being too large a block of text), and also because it made logical sense to break it where I broke it. Truth is, it could stand to be broken into a third paragraph, but it's okay like it now is.

And I removed an "e" from the incorrectly-spelled word "Comeing" in the title of what, at this writing, is citation 70.

I'm concerned, though, about the "This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article's neutral point of view of the subject. Please integrate the section's contents into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material. (November 2010)" notice box at the top of the entire "Controversies" section. After curing the two "citation needed" thingies (and doing the other two edits), I put my old newspaper editor's hat on and read the entire section both independent of the entire Wikipedia article, and also as a component thereof...

...and, honestly, I'm having trouble understanding both the "may compromise the article's neutral point of view" criticism, and also the suggestion that "integrat[ing] the section's contents into the article as a whole" would somehow make it better.

If someone has gone in and cleaned-up the entire "Controversies" section, then that may help explain at least a little of why I'm having trouble seeing the problems...

...and that's, in part, because the "Controversies" section, as it now (as of this writing on 26 July 2012) appears, may or may not be written as well and stylishly as maybe it could, but it at least presents the controversial issues in the proper manner, by first saying who made the allegation or criticism (and where and why, etc., with citations), and then providing Abdul's (or her supporters' and/or "peoples'") defense or denial (and, again, with citations); and it's also written, actually remarkably neutrally, considering the controversial nature of the subject matter. Remember that it's difficult to be as coldly neutral when reporting on controversy as it is when reporting more straightforward historical facts, or on the details of a timeline, etc. Reporting controversy has a bit of inherent controversy, all its own, merely by its being reported in the first place. The trick, most editors will attest, is to just make sure, first and foremost, that it's provably true; then, secondly, that it's well documented; and, thirdly, that there's no inadvertent apologia buried anywhere in it. Truthfully, it seems to mee that it (now, at least) meets all those criteria, and so I'm having trouble seeing any problem (other than, again, the writing could maybe do with some polish, but that's another matter, altogether). So, then, the neutrality being compromised at least by how its written -- as it now appears, in any case -- is an unwarranted criticism, as far as I'm concerned.

As to neutrality being compromised by the controversies having their own section, I definitely take issue with that notion if, in fact, that's what whomever put the notice box, there, was thinking when s/he suggested that the section's contents should be integrated into the rest of the larger article, and here's why: The subject matter of each of the two sub-sections was relatively (and that's the operative word) huge, at the time... big (relatively speaking) news that was reported beyond just the entertainment rags and websites. Both items, rightly or wrongly, made it into the regular 10PM or 11PM (depending on where one is in the United States) TV news broadcasts of ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX network either -owned or -affiliated TV and radio stations; and also onto not just the "Entertainment" pages, but even the front pages (though, admittedly, usually "below the fold" when so) of regular newspapers in towns and cities, both large and small. I definitely remember see it covered in the 11PM newscast of the CBS affiliate here in San Francisco (and even wondering why it was news, worthy of the minute-precious general, generic, non-entertainment-related half-hour newscast).

That's remarkable, actually, because pretty much everything else in Abdul's life may well have been reported in the news, but usually only in entertainment-related publications or TV shows, or in the entertainment sections of regular newspapers. But these two events in Abdul's life (that each have their own sub-sections in the "Contriversies" section of the Wikipedia article) pushed through to the regular, generic news; earned their own places in the American general public's both awareness and consciousness. I'm not saying they were huge as a part of said regular, generic news, but they were at least big enough that even people who didn't go out of their way to learn about Abdul in such as entertainment rags, websites and TV shows -- and maybe also didn't even know who she was -- nevertheless learned about these two events in her life through regular, generic, non-entertainment news sources. Therefore, separating these two events (the Corey thing, and also her slurred speach and whatever caused it thing) out into their own section and sub-sections in the Wikipedia article is definitely appropriate; and so, integrating the "Controversies" section contents into the rest of the article would be inappropriate.

Perhaps things would be improved if the "Controversies" section were renamed "Noteworthy contoversies" or something, since those two, among all the controversies in Abdul's life, were the truly generally noteworthy ones. Either that, or if the section is to remain named "Controversies," then maybe some of the other less-noteworthy controversies in her life (mentioned in other parts of the Wikipedia article) should be moved into the "Controversies" section so that all controversies are in an appropriately-named place. That (the latter), I suppose, could work, too. But even if the latter is not done, I really do think it's appropriate for Abdul's two most noteworthy controversies, which rose to the level of general (and not just fan) public awareness, should be in their own section, as they now, at this writing, are.

If everyone agrees, then all that's left is to ensure that the content of the "Controversies" section is, indeed, written as well and as neutrally as possible; and since I'm thinking, based on my reading of it, today, that it kinda' already is (as a result, I suspect, of someone going in and cleaning it up since the November 2010 notice box was added), then I'm thinking that maybe the notice box could now be removed. No? Yes? Thoughts, anyone? Is it okay, then, if I remove it?

Gregg L. DesElms (Username: Deselms) 19:53, 26 July 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deselms (talk • contribs)

I agree with your reading. The tag in question was added in this edit on 21 August 2010. I think it's justified to assume that those concerns have since been addressed. The message should be removed. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 08:22, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

"Legal issues"

The phrase "legal issues" has a clear negative connotation and as such is not an appropriate heading for information about Abdul filing a police report about being a victim of battery. The previous paragraph concerns a crime in which Abdul is the perpetrator. I suggest changing the name of this heading or else placing the story about the battery in another section, as the current heading seems to imply that the filing of a police report was some kind of misbehaviour on Abdul's part. Lazarusloafer (talk) 05:22, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

Lead section is too long

The lead section of the article is too long to navigate. I have placed the maintenance template and invite other editors to resolve the issue.-Kishfan (talk) 21:50, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

Eating disorder

Paula wasn't anorexic..she was bulimic.

For all Asking If Shes is Jewish or Not

Its confirmed that she is, shes coming to Israel with her parents and will have a (very late) Bat Mizvah.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4446358,00.html

In 1987 <snip> she was signed to the newly formed Virgin Records

It was formed in 1972, 15 years is newly formed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:A61:5077:C600:41EE:7173:D2:2ABE (talk) 09:57, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

So fix it. - SummerPhD^v2.0 15:23, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

Does she have children?

Anyone? 149.62.20.190 (talk) 17:30, 13 August 2022 (UTC)

No, doesn't seem like it. Arieledits2000 (talk) 09:01, 31 March 2023 (UTC)