Ryan Seacrest, fresh from a Mexican vacation, told his listeners that he was bit by a shark while swimming in the ocean on Sunday.

He said on his KIIS-FM radio show, “I thought it was a stick. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I saw it swim! He took a bite, and he left.”

He said he found the shark’s tooth in his skin. “[It] wasn’t a great thing to find. It was like finding a splinter!” He added that he needed an Advil after the event.

When asked if anyone else on the beach had been bit, he replied, “No, just me, of course! There were like 1,000 people in the ocean, and I get bit by the shark!”

However, Seacrest was only bit on the toe by a sand shark. Nothing too big and scary. Darn it!

I am glad that David Cook won, but I have to admit, I quit watching American Idol this season after the tryouts.

EW.com spoke with Nigel Lythgoe, American Idol producer, about David Archuleta’s father, Jeff and his being banned from being behind the scenes.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There have been reports that Jeff Archuleta was banished from backstage, but then David’s vocal coach gave a radio interview in which he said that wasn’t the case. What light can you shed on this?

NIGEL LYTHGOE: “Banished” is a terrible word, isn’t it? It sounds like we’re in some far-off kingdom. He has been asked not to participate in the choice of music with David or be in the room when David is working out his routines that he wants to sing. He’s fine to be in the studio — nothing wrong with that. We just want David to be able to be free like everybody else to get on and do what they want to do.

Does that have anything to do with the lyric change during David A.’s performance of “Stand By Me?”

There was a lyric change that happened that was a total misunderstanding. Just another, um, step along the way of us saying, “Okay, this is what we want to happen from now on.”

The vocal coach had said Jeff being asked not to participate backstage was more of an issue of fairness, essentially that David Cook and Syesha Mercado don’t have anyone helping them out choosing songs or making arrangements.

No, no, no. It has nothing to do with fairness. We just want everyone to have an equal opportunity, and if that’s fairness, fine. But this is more of just the fact of let’s take some pressure away here, you know? It’s like anybody appearing in front of their mom and dad. Let’s just open up the pressure cooker, release the pressure, and you just get on and do what you gotta do.

The rap on the father is that he’s a bit of a stage dad.

And what is a stage dad, or a stage mom? It’s someone who’s protective. That’s all.

“Last night the judges were thrown a curve ball on the air, which is just part of a live show. But it sparked a lot of gossip about Paula. And I read some of this online this morning and just for the record, the rumors — they’re not true. She’s part of our family and we love her.”

- Ryan Seacrest defending Paula Abdul on last night’s American Idol after she mistakenly critiqued two songs by Jason Castro - even though he only sang one - sparking rumors that she may have been lit up during the show.

Once again, Paula Abdul is loaded on American Idol…shocking, I know.

Geeze, someone get this bitch into rehab! She doesn’t know her ass from a hole in the wall!

TMZ is also reporting that Ms. Abdul was seen enjoying at least one martini at lunch, around 1pm. Remember, all martinis are doubles..at the minimum. So mix that with a Vicodin or two and BAM! Numb as f*ck.

Cameras caught up with Abdul outside the restaurant, which had a big ol’ “Happy Hour’ sign out front. Paula was wearing sunglasses and chewing gum - probably hide her fire breath, and was a little unstable on her feet. This was four hours before taping for American Idol was to begin.

Check it out.