‘American Idol’ season 12: Keith Urban chimes in on Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj

We’ve already heard from a good many sources in regards to the rather nasty situation that unfolded between “American Idol” judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj while at the show’s Charlotte auditions earlier this week. One person that we haven’t heard from, though, is the man who was effectively Switzerland while everything surrounding him was happening: Keith Urban.

So what does the country music superstar have to say about all this?  Ultimately, we have to give him some real credit for trying his best to have a sense of humor about the whole ordeal. “Extra” caught up with Urban recently while at an event with his wife Nicole Kidman, and he referred to himself as “the UN” before going to explain that he does not mind when people showcase their passion on such a grand scale:

“I love it, I gotta say, look I love working with passionate people. I love artists. Everyone just sort of expressing themselves. It’s a very alive and very invigorating work environment. A lot of passion. Randy is the craziest, so you know I’m predictable.”

Is there a difference between showing off your passions and screaming curse words at somebody else? Definitely, and this is the part of this that we are not quite sure Urban appreciated given all the headlines he and the show are getting out of this. Plus, we really aren’t sure that this is the sort of move that is going to keep families tuning in. Do conservative parents in the south really want to be hearing about “American Idol” judges cursing each other out? What is good for headlines now is not necessarily good for ratings, and you would think that the underwhelming performance of “The X Factor” would prove that.

What do you think about some of Urban’s comments?