Quarterback controversies are common as colds in the football realm, and it looks like we have a judge's panel controversy brewing in 'X Factor'-ville. With last week's elimination of fan favorite Rachel Crow, thanks to Nicole Scherzinger's much-criticized decision to let the vote go to deadlock and allow America's voting tally to decide, it turns out that the Scherz may not be 100 percent to blame for Crow's ouster. She may have caved to the pressure applied by fellow judge Paula Abdul.

TMZ posted a video of the final moments and Abdul can clearly be heard telling the Nic to "just let it go to a deadlock" as she struggled mightily between voting for Marcus Canty or Crow. Abdul's mic was low, but you can hear her instructing Scherzinger on what to do.

It sounds like Abdul was trying to help the show (which is live and under serious time constraints) move right along, in addition to supporting her fellow judge who was utterly a mess at having the critical vote fall on her lap. However, all those fans ready to crucify Scherzinger for letting this happen need to back up a little and allow Abdul to shoulder a little of the blame. Judging from this vid, it sounds like it was her idea/suggestion.

Watch Paula Abdul Tell Nicole Scherzinger to Let the Vote Go to Deadlock

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