Paula Abul Gets VH1 GIG

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Paula Abdul was in negotiations to star in the upcoming season of Ugly Betty as the new office temp.

Unfortunately for Abdul, the negotiations broke down after the diva’s demands proved unreasonable (Buddy TV reports that she even requested a private jet), and ABC has replaced her with 3rd Rock From the Sun alum Kristen Johnston.

The six-foot actress will play Mode magazine’s latest temp, Helen, who is an older version of Amanda (Becki Newton). Johnston told Buddy TV her character is like “Amanda in 10 years. She’s still trying to get into the right clubs, wearing tight dresses … tragic. I think [Helen] sees herself as Samantha from Sex and the City.”

It won’t be Johnston’s first foray into a role of that sort; she actually graced the set of Sex and the City when she portrayed Lexi Featherston, an aging party girl who falls out of a window in the episode “Splat!,” giving Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) a whole new perspective on life that eventually enables her to move to Paris with Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov).

Not only does Johnston sound better suited for this sort of role than Abdul, but I could see her actually resembling the Amanda character.

While Helen is sure to cause ruckus in the office, it sounds as though she could be the catalyst for Amanda’s self-awareness. With Betty (America Ferrera) landing the Features Editor promotion and Marc (Michael Urie) grasping at the corporate ladder, Amanda’s storyline this season will undoubtedly deal with her trying to figure out her life now that her friends are moving on.

Johnston joins the cast in the second half of Ugly Betty’s two-hour fourth season première on Oct. 9 on ABC and Citytv.

As for Abdul, sounds like someone was finally able to meet those demands of hers: last night, the former Idol judge announced on her Twitter page that she will host VH1’s Divas show, a live event on Sept. 17 that will dole out awards to the likes of Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis and Miley Cyrus.

Source TV Guide