The future of American Idol's judges panel just got a lot more cloudy. Ellen DeGeneres announced Thursday night that she is leaving the hit show after just one season on the panel.

Her announcement came just hours before a TMZ.com report that quotes sources as saying Kara DioGuardi has been fired from the show.  The source tells TMZ Idol will return to a three judge panel consisting of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

In a statement released by Fox, Ellen said she spoke with the network and Idol producers a couple of months ago and informed them that “this didn’t feel like the right fit for me.” She continued, “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.” Ellen also said she had a difficult time critiquing the Idol contestants and at times hurting their feelings. Fox and Idol producers praised Ellen for the humor and honesty she brought to the show and said she will be missed.

Ellen was hired last year by Idol to replace Paula Abdul. She received mixed reviews for her work on the show, and she was rumored to have clashed with Simon Cowell behind the scenes. She will now focus her attention on her daytime talk show. Simon said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, "As I got to know Ellen, I grew to really, really like her. I have huge respect for her because she's always been in control of her own destiny."  Deadline.com reports Idol has already decided to replace Ellen with Jennifer Lopez. The website reports negotiations with J-Lo's camp began a month ago.

Fox had already been searching for a replacement for Simon, who ended his Idol run in May. Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Elton John and Chris Isaak are just a few of the names that have been mentioned as candidates in various reports.

Fox could clear up all of the confusion on Monday, when it discusses its 2010-2011 schedule with television critics in Beverly Hills.

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