TV.com

Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell always poke fun at each other. According to Seacrest, those two are actually just goofing around--it's fellow judge Paula Abdul that Seacrest has a beef with.

It began when Seacrest appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 30 and made a reference to Abdul's recent bizarre behavior, which includes spouting unintelligible gibberish onscreen, reportedly crying on set, and sneaking through airport security offscreen.

"Hey look, I don't look in their cups to see what's sitting before them on that table. But at times I feel like we have reeled her in," he told Leno.

Abdul appeared on Leno April 10 and hit back with a crack about Seacrest's much-publicized lip-lock with Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher.

"He only kisses the mirror," said Abdul. "And honestly, do you think Teri Hatcher is that desperate of a housewife?"

Last week, Seacrest told People magazine that his and Abdul's relationship is indeed on the rocks.

"It's awkward. I don't know what the deal is. It's very awkward," Seacrest said.

Abdul released a statement yesterday saying "reports of a feud are ridiculous. We are one funny dysfunctional family. There's nothing but love."

Today, Seacrest also denied the rift, saying he had been joking. "It was said in jest," he told Us magazine. "We are a dysfunctional family. There is no feud."

Abdul's bizarre behavior gave rise to rumors that she comes to work drunk. Still, she recently signed up for three more seasons of the reality show.