Emmy award winner Ellen DeGeneres called Ryan’s radio show Thursday, the morning after the news broke that she’d be joining American Idol as the fourth judge.

On her qualifications for being a judge:

“The people are the ones that choose the American Idol. Ultimately it doesn’t come down to some expert in the music industry, it comes down to everybody at home that says ‘that’s the person I relate to, that’s the person that I’m going to buy music from’.”

On her judging style:

“I’m not going to be mean, I hate when Simon [Cowell] is that mean. You can be constructive and criticize somebody that’s helpful instead of mean spirited.”

On Paula Abdul’s departure:

“I hope Paula [Abdul] is okay with it. I don’t want anybody to think I took Paula’s job away. I feel like she was gone and then everybody was looking for somebody else, then I stepped in. I certainly don’t want to be that person that is the evil taking Paula’s job away.”

Listen to the interview and read more highlights here!

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