PLAYBOY:  When did you last see Paula Abdul?
COWELL:  Oh gosh. Two months ago? She guested on The X Factor.
PLAYBOY:  Were you surprised she agreed?
COWELL:  A little bit, yeah.
PLAYBOY:  When there is no business to conduct, do you speak to her?
COWELL:  Not very often. I consider her a friend. I try to look out for her. She doesn't always think I do, but I do.
PLAYBOY:  Why does she need looking after?
COWELL:  Everyone needs looking after. I need looking after. Randy Jackson needs looking after. Ryan needs looking after.
PLAYBOY:  That's a little bit of a dodge.
COWELL:  Paula is a single girl, she's an emotional girl, and things get to be too much sometimes. You need someone you can talk to.
PLAYBOY:  Well, she has said of you, "He's a pussycat. We are great friends."
COWELL:  I think it depends on when you ask her that question. I think in good times I am the nicest person in the world. In bad times I am the devil.
PLAYBOY:  For instance, you've said, "I actually can't stand her."
COWELL:  At times I can't. You're asking me on a good day. Maybe in three weeks it will be a bad day.
PLAYBOY:  It's a good day because you haven't seen her in two months.
COWELL:  Maybe, yeah. [laughs] We have a very volatile relationship. I mean one minute we're like Siamese twins, and then we're Tom and Jerry.
PLAYBOY:  Is it sexual chemistry?
COWELL:  I don't think so, but maybe.
PLAYBOY:  Are you attracted to her?
COWELL:  Sometimes I am, yeah.
PLAYBOY:  People say it's an act, you and Abdul.
COWELL:  If you were observing us over a two-week period, you'd see it's certainly not an act. There's no premeditation in any part of this show.
PLAYBOY:  One contestant, Corey Clark, claimed he had an affair with her. Do you think there's any validity to that?
COWELL:  No, I'm 100 percent certain it's not true, because I would have known about it. You can't keep that kind of thing a secret.