She subsequently abandoned media engagements scheduled for Friday. However, Abdul's spokesman Jeff Ballard insists tiredness and a minor throat infection, not inebriation, were the causes of the cancellations and earlier odd behavior.

He says, "She was exhausted. This was at the end of three days of press (interviews and appearances), and she has had cameras following her around for a reality TV show too. She was sitting in a room with just a camera and a mic on, and the controllers dropped the sound twice, which is why she rolled her eyes. She never drinks. I have known Paula Abdul since she was 13, and I have never seen her drink ever in my life. And no, she is not on any kind of medication. She was a little tired."

In 2005 Abdul revealed she suffers from a neurological disorder that causes chronic pain and requires a weekly injection of an anti-inflammatory drug.

See, that last part made me feel guilty about assuming she had been sneaking some hooch into her latte. If she's got a Michael J. Fox problem, then my bad. But her "weekly injections" look an awful lot like the time I mixed Vicodin with Pinot Grigio and told everyone that I loved them and that this veggie dip tastes amazing and that you might be gay and have you ever thought of it and your girlfriend would want you to explore this and she'll never know, I'm really discreet, oh hi Amy I didn't see you there I was just getting to know Matt *vomit*.