Fox has dropped a fourth reason of the loose reality show The Simple Life, the network said Wednesday.

Stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are supposedly under contract for a fourth season, but Fox officials said they just don’t have room for it on the schedule.

“In January, we have to accommodate 2 1/2 hours of new programming with 24 and American Idol,” they said in a statement.

But one on-set source said the real reason is that Hilton and Richie just can’t get over their public feud.

“Fox executives were freaking out because their two stars can’t stand each other,” the source said.

Hilton made it clear earlier this year that her and Richie were no longer friends – for reasons that only Richie supposedly knows.

andPOP previously reported that Hilton had tried to get Fox to bring on buddy Kimberley Stewart as a replacement for Richie, but Fox rejected the idea.

Producers of the show still hope production can go ahead and are shopping for another network.

A source says broadcasters NBC and the WB have both shown strong interest in picking up the show as a mid-season replacement.






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