Is Nicole Scherzinger Planning to Leave 'X Factor?'

There's a reason, it seems, that former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger didn't spend a lot of time on TV before joining the first season of "The X Factor." Namely, she has a knack for pissing people off.

Scherzinger's behavior on the show has been a bit hammy and spotlight-hogging all season, but she had an especially rough couple of weeks when she had a hand in eliminating fan favorites Drew and Rachel Crow. Both eliminations ended in effusive crying (and loud, horrendous sobbing), making it difficult not to hate Scherzinger at least a little bit.

So it should comes as no surprise that Scherzinger's status as a mentor for season two of "The X Factor," which is now auditioning, is in question.

According to Deadline, Scherzinger didn't give a clear answer when asked at a press conference whether or not she would be returning, choosing instead to talk about how hard the elimination process has been on her.

Poor, poor Nicole.

Simon Cowell, for his part, hasn't sounded totally sure that he'll be bringing Scherzinger back, either. "We change these shows all the time," he said last week. "You listen to the network, you listen to the sponsors."

Not exactly a ringing vote of confidence. Scherzinger was, after all, a replacement for Cheryl Cole that was so last-minute, the first half of the first couple of episodes of the show featured Cole as a judge at the initial auditions, and not Scherzinger. Given more time, Cowell might be able to pull somebody else onto the show.

Somebody who, oh, I dunno, might actually do some judging as a judge?