Former Idol Finalist, McKibbin, Left Depressed by Simon Cowell

Nikki McKibbin, who you might remember from the first season of American Idol (she came in third place behind Justin Guarini and winner, Kelly Clarkson) has revealed that the harsh criticism judge, Simon Cowell, dished out to her on the show made her drug and depression struggles even worse.

She reportedly told Us magazine: “I came out of Idol with a lack of self-confidence.  I had never been told I wasn’t good enough.  Having to hear it for so many weeks from Simon Cowell killed me inside. I couldn’t get the s**t he had said to me out of my head.  It drove me deeper into my depression. I wouldn’t say that this was Simon’s fault. It just added to the addict that I already was.”

She also told the magazine that she found a way to get alcohol into the Idol house:  “We were heavily chaperoned, but I would buy vodka and sneak it into the refrigerator on the bottom floor. If I wasn’t too exhausted, I’d have one or two drinks.”

Nikki will be appearing on the reality show Celebrity Rehab.  Here’s a video of her singing “Heartbreaker” on Idol:

Okay, here’s my opinion of this.  She came on the show knowing she would be opening herself up to criticism.  If you think Simon Cowell is harsh, someone needs to go see what Katie Holmes had to live through at her Broadway debut of All My Sons last night.  People had signs up telling her to run for her life to get away from her Scientologist husband, Tom Cruise.  They call their baby girl, Suri, an alien.  You don’t have to agree with people’s religious choices but can you imagine how it feels to have people doing that?