The public played with him long enough. After Simon Cowell dished it out to Sanjaya Malakar and the rest of America during Tuesday night’s American Idol stage performances, the public overwhelmingly responded. Cowell finally laid down the law on Malakar, saying his performance was horrendous, and didn’t bother to hide his opinion that it was time for Malakar to be marched off stage. Joke’s over now, America - Sanjaya is gone. His increasing stage time and apparent immunity through voting rounds left most critics flabbergasted, as singers with arguably much better vocals had to call it quits on their Idol dreams. Simon finally got his way last night, and the caustic judge was all smiles when it became clear country week would be Sanjaya’s last. Some fans of the show are obviously still listening to Cowell - and thank goodness.