Cracking Under Pressure

Howard took a call from Eric the Midget, who wanted to back out of the “American Idol Wrap Up Show” he was scheduled to do next week. Eric claimed that he was initially told by Will that the show was off, but then received a follow-up call a few hours later saying it was “a go.” However, Eric insisted that, during this brief period of time, the attendant who needs to fly with him told him he couldn’t accompany him and he couldn’t find a replacement. After Eric refused Howard’s request to have Artie be his attendant for the flight, Howard informed him that he could no longer ask for favors since he was canceling his appearance.

Eric announced that he’s moving to another part of California in March and that he’d like to fly to New York then to do his “American Idol” broadcast. Howard responded that he’d think about Eric’s proposal, but that since there would be more programming on his channels by then, he wasn’t sure if he could schedule it. Howard added that recording Eric going to the bathroom sounded like a better program for him to do, but Eric replied that he wasn’t interested in such a show. Before he got off the line, Eric reported that he found out just yesterday that Kelly Clarkson will be performing at this year’s Grammys, but Howard informed him he wouldn’t be helping him to get tickets after his latest stunt.