‘American Idol’: Steven Tyler admits to being ‘gentle’ during time on show

Just in case all of you were sitting at home and feeling frustrated at Steven Tyler during his time on “American Idol” from 2011-12, don’t worry: The former Aerosmith rocker very much understood where you were coming from. As a matter of fact, he admitted this week on Howard Stern’s radio show that he mostly was complimentary and kind to singers trying out for the show because he didn’t really have it in him to be mean to people who just wanted to sing, which is a pretty noble pursuit when you look at all of the terrible things that are out there that some of these people could be doing:

“The format was supposed to be take the [spirit] out of people, so it’s good TV, and I was gentle because I couldn’t imagine telling some girl … she sucks and she can’t sing, so then for the rest of her life she’s not singing.”

So if Tyler realized he had troubles when it came to this, why did he sign up for the show to begin with? He claimed that he was upset at many of his band-mates over their treatment of him after he fell during a concert, when he felt as though they didn’t reach out enough. Since that time, though, things have changed, and Tyler has toured much of the time since leaving the show last year.

Also in the interview, the rocker opens up to Howard about some of his problems with substance abuse, how he had to change his life after going through some of what he did in the 1970s, and his thoughts on Madonna. (There are a number of bleeps present here.)

What do you think about some of Tyler’s comments here? If you want to check out some proof that his fellow former judge Jennifer Lopez is not returning to the show, you can do so here.

Photo: Fox