As if the tryouts in Oklahoma City hadn't been weird enough Thursday evening (Jan. 31), former judge Steven Tyler showed up at the end of the Oklahoma City auditions in drag. After one young girl performed a duet with a puppet, another with Sybil-like personality changes belted out the "Star Spangled Banner," and still one more told the panel she auditioned because God came to her and commanded her to do so, Tyler's odd appearance at show's end was nearly anti-climactic.
In an ill-fitting blonde wig and a dress that would have shamed a bag lady, Tyler strode out to the audition platform and, in a contrived gravelly falsetto that fooled no one, told the judges he was there to perform. The judges played along but it was easy to see that Tyler was having the most fun.
In one Milton Berle-esque moment he squeezed his breast, producing a clownish honk.
But everything hasn't been all fun and games since Tyler left the show. His former management company, Kovac Media Group, sued his lawyer in mid-2012, claiming that Dina LaPolt was the reason Tyler never saw a third season on "American Idol," tanking a contract worth up to $8 million (according to Hollywood.com). Among other claims was the accusation that LaPolt purposely worked to ensure Tyler wasn't offered a raise (why he reportedly left) and convinced Tyler to get rid of his management team.
But those were just peripheral players, so no hard feelings, right?
Still, there was that incident where Tyler was asked during an MTV interview about the "Idol" fracas in Charlotte. He made comments that Minaj would have relegated someone like Bob Dylan to the cornfield. Minaj took offense, somehow construing Tyler's words as "racist," then saying as much on Twitter.
Tyler later went on a Canadian Internet show and directly addressed the new judge, telling her that he didn't "know where she got that out of me saying I don't know how she would have judged Bob Dylan. You know, I was just that if Bob Dylan came on the show, he would have been thrown off. Maybe I spoke out of turn." Looking directly at the camera, he added, "But a racist I'm not, Nicki."
But all seemed a-right during the auditions, so...
The judges gave Lady Tyler a gold ticket.
Let's just hope we don't see Steven Tyler in drag again anytime soon, if ever. Although he's famous for singing "Dude Looks Like A Lady," he didn't -- look like a lady, that is. And Milton Berle is no doubt rolling over in his grave, not because the former "Idol" judge looked awful as a woman (Unlce Milty wasn't very attractive as a woman, either), but because the Aerosmith frontman stole the famed comedian's routine.
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