PRESS-beseiged “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul wants to remind everyone that she isn’t a drunk or drug addict – again.
The diminutive dance diva devotes an entire episode of her reality show, “Hey Paula,” tonight to the tearful behind-the-scenes aftermath of a TV interview that went horribly wrong last winter and made headlines around the world.
During the Bravo show (which airs at 10 p.m.) Abdul – who is also as an executive producer – allows cameras to film the crisis control meeting she held with her publicist and others who were paid big bucks save her image after the media debacle that nearly sank her career.
“These accusations of me being drunk and drugged up on camera have made me seriously mad and saddened,” Abdul tells the camera during a typical reality show confessional. “So I’ve gathered my team together so we can set the record straight, and let’s deal with this properly.”
At the meeting, she cries hysterically: “What do I do to stop this? My reputation, which is all I have, is getting ruined! I do not do recreational drugs, and I am not drunk on television, and I’m sick and tired of people trying make it seem as if I am.”
During the memorable, live TV interview, Abdul answered questions that no one seemed to be asking her, jumped around in her seat, interrupted correspondents and spoke in sentences that were occasionally just gibberish.
Her bizarre behavior sparked new speculation about her, and the video clip (which was quickly posted on YouTube) became an Internet sensation.
Paula also claimed that The Post made up a quote in a story about her calling “Idol” pal Simon Cowell “a brother, a lover.” [Full disclosure: we have the quote on tape, along with an entire interview conducted at The Post just before the beginning of last season’s “Idol.” Perhaps she doesn’t remember it, but she said it.]
Abdul’s camp later explained the TV mishap as “technical difficulties, including severe audio issues in which multiple stations were talking to her at once.”
Also caught on tape tonight is her apprehension about facing reporters again and how she got her confidence back after receiving a Woman of the Year award from a ballet organization.