Ellen: Judging Idol Was 'One of the Worst Decisions I've Made'

Ellen DeGeneres looks back at her one season as a judge onAmerican Idol as not just a mistake, but one of the worst ones she's ever made.

In an interview this week Howard Stern on his Sirius XM satellite show, DeGeneres told Stern "Yes," when he asked her if she hated being a judge on the TV singing competition series.

DeGeneres was hired as a replacement judge after the departure of Paula Abdul in Sesason 9, but she left just months later. At the time, she said, "It didn't feel like the right fit for me."

But when Stern pressed her Tuesday about why she took the job in the first place, DeGeneres told a different, more personal story: "As a fan of the shows, it doesn't matter that I sing or I know anything about pitch or anything, I'm like everybody else at home. It's American Idol, and you're watching and you're a fan. So I thought, 'I'm going to represent these people at home that have opinions and like somebody or don't.' But then I just thought, 'I can't break this person's heart. Let somebody else do that.' "

During the same interview, DeGeneres spoke with Stern about her confusion with Caitlyn Jenner's stand on marriage. Read that story here.

Watch part of Ellen's interview with Howard Stern, below: