Abdul's Freudian crush on Cowell

'American Idol' judge Paula Abdul is struggling to work alongside her fellow panelist Simon Cowell - because she is harbouring a secret crush for the music mogul.

The Grammy-winning singer/choreographer admits she subconsciously fancies the British star - dubbed TV's Mr Nasty - even though she finds his sharp-tongued comments hard to take.

The 44-year-old says: "Just when you think we're all getting on, Simon turns and we get back into our little quarrels. I suppose it's quite funny to watch, but he's so infuriating.

"Maybe ( I fancy Cowell). Subconsciously. In a really weird, Freudian way. We have a good work balance. We've all had moments where we've walked off because of Simon, but he's even walked off because of himself."