I'm calling it here first -- I think we just witnessed the end of American Idol.

Just after he finished receiving his reaming from Simon Cowell on Tuesday night's show, Chris Richardson sent his thoughts out to those affected by the Virginia Tech massacre. He seemed genuinely upset, saying he had many friends in that area.

The cameras cut back briefly to Simon and Paula, and Simon clearly rolled his eyes at Richardson's statement.

Now, I'm not saying Richardson's words couldn't be seen as a bid for sympathy by someone who had just given a particularly lousy performance, but how terrible does it look for Cowell to apparently be shrugging off someone's reaction to the tragedy? Whatever his intentions, Cowell has just opened himself up for a world of criticism.