Don’t count Britney Spears out of The X Factor judging panel just yet.
Despite reports swirling of the pop-star's imminent firing from the show, which just completed its second season, an X Factor official tells The Hollywood Reporter that nothing has been decided.
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“No one has discussed next year's judging panel yet,” said a spokesperson. “Any reports otherwise are complete speculation."
A story published Thursday in US Weekly cited sources claiming Spears’ time as a judge is coming to an end.
“Britney will get the boot," the article reported, with an additional claim that the "Toxic" singer hadn't earned her $15 million paycheck." Producers wanted her for the long haul, but it isn't working."
However, in an interview with E! Online earlier this month, Simon Cowell said he hadn’t talked to Spears about the show's 2013 season.
"I don't know yet, to be honest with you," he said. "I haven't had the conversation with her whether she'd want to, what other commitments she's got.”
Cowell doesn’t fear change on the judging panel, however. After two seasons, the panel has already said goodbye to Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, Cheryl Cole, and L.A. Reid, who felt he needed to return to his main job as chairman of Epic Records. Cowell said that Demi Lovato has expressed interest in returning to the show, and he wouldn’t be opposed to Spears returning.
"Yeah, I think I do, yeah,” he told E!. “But like I said, and it goes back to L.A., it all depends on how much time they can give us."
