Editing Paula Abdul (section)

=== Health ===
Abdul has said that she was injured in a plane crash in 1992 during her [[Under My Spell Tour]], necessitating 15 [[cervical spine|cervical spinal]] surgeries. When, in 2020, some gossip sites, including ''[[Jezebel (website)|Jezebel]]'', questioned the veracity of this, Abdul responded during an interview with [[Yahoo!|Yahoo Entertainment]], stating "You know what? It's like, there are seven other people that were on the plane, who were in that plane accident with me. So, I really don't care what people have to say. I don't."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parker |first1=Lyndsey |title=Paula Abdul opens up about mysterious 1992 plane crash: 'I didn't want to talk too much about it{{'-}} |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/paula-abdul-opens-up-about-mysterious-1993-plane-crash-i-didnt-want-to-talk-too-much-about-it-182841961.html |publisher=[[Yahoo! Entertainment]] |date=March 11, 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref>{{Importance inline|date=December 2022}} Abdul has insisted in interviews that the reason the crash has no official NTSB record or was documented in the media at the time is because the occupants on the plane signed [[non-disclosure agreement|non-disclosure agreements ]].

In 1994, Abdul sought treatment for [[bulimia nervosa]], which she revealed years later had first developed during her teens and only intensified after she became a pop star. She said: "I learned at a very early age I didn't fit in physically. I learned through years of rejections from auditions. I would ask myself, 'Why can't I be tall and skinny like the other dancers?' I felt nervous and out of control, and all I could think about was food. Food numbed the fear and anxiety. I'd eat and then run to the bathroom."<ref name="YBR" />

In 2005, Abdul said she had been diagnosed in November 2004 with a neurological disorder causing chronic pain, [[Complex regional pain syndrome|reflex sympathetic dystrophy]] (RSD), following a "cheerleading accident" at age 17.<ref name="USAT">{{cite news |date=April 20, 2005 |title=Abdul says odd behavior not drug-related |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-04-20-paula-abdul_x.htm |url-status=live |access-date=April 20, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219100216/http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-04-20-paula-abdul_x.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2006}}</ref> She discussed the diagnosis in response to allegations of drug use.<ref name="USAT" />

In April 2006, Abdul filed a report at a Hollywood police station stating she had been a victim of battery at a private party at about 1 am on April 2, according to LAPD spokesman Lt. Paul Vernon.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 7, 2006 |title=Paula Abdul tells police she was assaulted at LA party |work=Augusta Chronicle |url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/things-do/2006-04-07/paula-abdul-tells-police-she-was-assaulted-la-party |url-status=live |access-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019220909/http://chronicle.augusta.com/things-do/2006-04-07/paula-abdul-tells-police-she-was-assaulted-la-party |archive-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> "According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall," Vernon said. "She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries."<ref>{{cite news |date=April 6, 2006 |title=Paula Abdul Tells Police She Was Assaulted |work=MTV |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1528105/paula-abdul-tells-police-she-was-assaulted-at-party/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229061002/http://www.mtv.com/news/1528105/paula-abdul-tells-police-she-was-assaulted-at-party/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 29, 2020 |access-date=February 29, 2020}}</ref>

==== Allegations of drug use ====
Substance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior"<ref name="USAT" /> by Abdul during episodes of ''American Idol''. After reading these allegations on message boards, Abdul told ''[[People (American magazine)|People]]'' in April 2005 about her RSD diagnosis; she added that she was pain-free following treatment with [[anti-inflammatory]] medication.<ref name="USAT" /> Allegations arose again in January 2007 when videos circulated on the Internet of Abdul appearing to sway in her chair and slur her speech during a set of interviews.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |date=January 15, 2007 |title=Paula Abdul seen slurring in TV interview |work=Today.com |agency=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/paula-abdul-seen-slurring-tv-interview-wbna16611216 |access-date=April 9, 2007}}</ref> Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews.<ref name="Reuters" /> It was revealed on the Bravo show ''Hey Paula'', which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of [[insomnia]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Andy Dehnart |author-link=Andy Dehnart |date=June 29, 2007 |title=Paula Abdul's loopy TV interviews blamed on exhaustion, insomnia, the flu, audio problems |url=http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/hey_paula/2007_Jun_29_breakdown_episode |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014053/http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/hey_paula/2007_Jun_29_breakdown_episode |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=July 26, 2012 |website=Reality Blurred}}</ref> In February 2007, Abdul told ''[[Us Weekly]]'' that she had never been drunk or used illegal drugs, and called the allegations "lies".<ref>{{cite news |date=February 13, 2007 |title=Paula Abdul claims she's 'squeaky clean' |work=Today.com |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/paula-abdul-claims-she-s-squeaky-clean-wbna17138450 |url-status=live |access-date=February 15, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214102108/http://www.today.com/popculture/paula-abdul-claims-she-s-squeaky-clean-wbna17138450 |archive-date=February 14, 2017}}</ref>

In May 2009, ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' posted an article on its website that said that Abdul told them she stayed at the [[Omni La Costa Resort and Spa|La Costa Resort and Spa]] in [[Carlsbad, California]], for three days the previous year to recover from [[physical dependence]] on prescription pain medications.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 8, 2009 |title=Paula Abdul: No Painkillers, No Rehab |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/122701/paula-abdul-no-painkillers-no-rehab |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130205144/http://www.eonline.com/news/122701/paula-abdul-no-painkillers-no-rehab |archive-date=30 January 2018 |access-date=30 January 2018 |website=E! Online}}</ref><ref name="med">{{cite news |date=5 May 2009 |title=Paula Abdul Reveals Struggle with Prescription Painkillers |work=[[People (American magazine)|People]] |url=https://people.com/celebrity/paula-abdul-reveals-struggle-with-prescription-painkillers/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507183507/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20276698,00.html |archive-date=7 May 2009}}</ref> The medications, prescribed due to injuries and her RSD diagnosis, included a pain patch, nerve medication, and a muscle relaxant. According to the article, Abdul said the medications made her "get weird" at times and that she suffered from physical [[Drug withdrawal|withdrawal]] symptoms during her recovery.<ref name="med" /> Later that same week, in an interview with Detroit radio station [[WKQI]], Abdul rejected the article's accuracy. She told the radio station she never checked into a rehab clinic and never had a drug abuse problem.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paula Abdul Denies Report She Abused Painkillers; Magazine Stands by Story |url=http://www.tvguide.com/American-Idol/Paula-Abdul-Denies-1005889.aspx?imw=Y |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128175649/http://www.tvguide.com/American-Idol/Paula-Abdul-Denies-1005889.aspx?imw=Y |archive-date=January 28, 2012 |access-date=May 8, 2009 |website=TVGuide.com}}</ref>