My phone’s blowing up with messages about Simon Cowell from worried showbiz insiders, says KATIE HIND. The old wounds are open. So things are about to get worse

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At London’s Arts Club, Simon Cowell was surrounded by journalists eager to speak with him.

The music executive had a celebratory night after his band, One Direction, won the award for global success at the 2013 BRIT Awards. They also performed for their enthusiastic fans, who were known as Directioners.

Simon was in great spirits at the after-party, celebrating the band’s success, and eager to talk to the reporters there – including me.

I was there, and it was incredible seeing Simon Cowell. Honestly, even Chris Martin from Coldplay was standing nearby, but everyone completely overlooked him! I remember Chris looking a little lost while Simon just soaked up all the attention – he really thrives in the spotlight. The British media were absolutely frantic to get a word with him, it was like they were waiting for Santa Claus to arrive!

Oh my god, it was just the time for Simon Cowell! Every Saturday and Sunday night, over ten million of us were glued to The X Factor – his show, you know? He was everywhere, the most famous person in Britain, and honestly, he totally ate it up! It wasn’t just luck, though. He built everything from the ground up! I mean, One Direction became HUGE, a global obsession, but he also launched Little Mix, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs, JLS… the list goes on! He just had the magic touch, seriously.

It wasn’t a shock to find messages from friends of Simon Cowell yesterday, all concerned about him after his new Netflix documentary, ‘Simon Cowell: The Next Act,’ received overwhelmingly negative reviews.

Critics weren’t impressed with Simon Cowell’s new show about creating a boy band. The Guardian and the Telegraph both gave it just one star, with the Telegraph quipping that the series was ‘as flat as his hairdo.’ The Independent was equally harsh, calling Cowell ‘a man out of time’ and describing the show as ‘sad and bleak’.

Despite all that, he did manage to form a band called December 10, and they’ve actually signed a record deal with Island Records.

I’m hearing from Simon’s close friends that he’s really upset by the recent criticism, and honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. He’s always been a bit of a perfectionist – he likes to have everything just so, and letting go of control is tough for him. It’s something he even acknowledges himself!

According to someone who used to work with him, he was incredibly influential and talented, but his recent project hasn’t been well-received. While some newspaper critics can be pretentious and their audience might not be his typical viewers, he’s accustomed to universal success and enthusiastic praise.

‘You have to wonder whether he regrets this project. He had a tremendous legacy with The X Factor.’

Simon’s return to the spotlight comes at a difficult moment and could bring up painful memories for people who had negative experiences on The X Factor.

Katie Waissel, who was a finalist on the 2010 season of the show, recently spoke out against the wealthy businessman after he gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine last month.

Ms. Waissel criticized him online for not acknowledging the intense pressures faced by contestants on the show, including long hours, emotional abuse, public humiliation, and a generally stressful and uncontrolled environment.

An article on NME.com that included comments from Katie was unexpectedly removed, which she found deeply upsetting. She believed Simon Cowell’s team had pressured the website to take it down.

Simon and his team have always maintained that he launched the careers of many aspiring talents, and some of them have gone on to become very successful thanks to his guidance.

His past treatment of coworkers definitely makes people wonder about his behavior in the past.

I understand how upset my colleague, Cheryl Cole, was when Simon Cowell removed her from the US version of the show so soon after it began, especially since he’d promoted her arrival with so much excitement in 2011.

A colleague of the singer who witnessed the event described her as deeply upset. She felt incredibly humiliated and embarrassed, and it seemed to have a lasting impact on her.

Cheryl has often shared how deeply affected she was by everything that happened. She was dealing with a really difficult personal situation – her divorce from Ashley – and she believed Simon was a supportive friend during that time.

Cheryl didn’t participate in the UK show and filed a lawsuit against the production company, claiming lost income. They reached a confidential settlement in November 2013. Despite this, she rejoined the show in 2014 for its eleventh season.

Simon didn’t just upset one colleague. He also allowed biographer Tom Bower to expose his affair with Dannii Minogue in the book Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell.

The book revealed Simon often found Dannii attractive, describing her as ‘foxy’ and admiring her style. He admitted to feeling nervous and inexperienced around her, like a ‘schoolboy’ with a crush.

Kate Thornton and Dermot O’Leary both hosted the show, but left in 2007 and 2015, respectively. Kate’s departure was particularly sudden.

According to someone familiar with the show, Simon would often leave performers uncertain about their involvement until just before rehearsals started.

He’d simply approve or reject the documents, and it felt incredibly controlling. It really frustrated people.

I was absolutely heartbroken to hear about Liam Payne. He passed away in October 2024 after a terrible accident – he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires. It was so tragic. He’d been battling addiction for years, and a lot of fans, myself included, feel like the incredibly demanding schedule Simon Cowell pushed One Direction through back in the day really contributed to his struggles. It’s just devastating.

Simon was always pleasant and friendly to journalists directly. However, his team was known for being tough and would strongly react to any negative press about him.

I faced immediate consequences for a story I wrote in 2009. It was about George Sampson, the winner of Britain’s Got Talent, and it showed the show’s creator in a negative way. As a result, I was banned from the X Factor studios in Wembley, northwest London, for several years.

Simon’s representative actually tried to get me fired from my job at the newspaper because of this, but they weren’t successful.

In 2018, I reported that Simon was attempting to sue The Guardian newspaper for questions they asked about Cheryl’s 2002 assault conviction, which came up while she was a contestant on his BBC show, The Greatest Dancer. As a result, I was no longer invited to his annual summer party at Kensington Palace.

However, I’ve heard Simon might face further difficulties, especially since his looks have changed a lot over time.

I’ve heard a new documentary about The X Factor is coming out, and some people think it’s connected to his recent return to the spotlight.

Show producers are reaching out to past contestants and crew members to create a brutally honest documentary about The X Factor, exposing both the good and the bad behind the scenes.

I hear Simon has been contacted directly, but his supporters are trying to get others involved to help him. He would likely want former judge Sharon Osbourne – who is still mourning the loss of her husband, Ozzy – to defend him against any accusations.

According to someone involved with the project, Sharon is very skilled at defending The X Factor against criticism, and it’s often more impactful when that defense comes from a woman.

If the upcoming documentary about The X Factor is as harsh as people are predicting, the negative press the show is getting now might seem minor in comparison.

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2025-12-10 21:50