Truth rating: 10
8:25 pm, February 7th, 2012
(Extra)
Simon Cowell is speaking out about his recent decisions to fire Nicole Scherzinger and pal Paula Abdul from “The X Factor.”
After the show’s first season was largely maligned by critics and failed to live up to ratings expectations, Cowell and his team quickly decided a reboot was in order for the upcoming second season.
Of Abdul he says, “I would’ve liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it’s business; it’s never personal.”
But while Abdul may have taken the news in stride, Scherzinger wasn’t as receptive.
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“I don’t think she’s mad. I think she’s disappointed,” Cowell explains in an interview scheduled to air on “Extra” Wednesday.
But the former “American Idol” judge actually places some of the blame on himself as well, admitting “X Factor” didn’t live up to his own hype.
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“It’s only because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million [viewers],” he says. “If I hadn’t said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success.”
As for who will come on board to help improve the show, Cowell admits he’d love to have Mariah Carey as a judge, but knows the mom of infant twins can’t make the commitment.
Katy Perry would be “fun,” he says, while Madonna would be “great” – and “expensive.”
But don’t expect to see the mogul shelling out $100 million a year to snag Beyonce, as some outlets have claimed.
“I have no idea where this rumor came from,” Cowell says, adding, “It’s complete nonsense.”
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