Sharon Osbourne’s ‘feud’ with Simon Cowell explained
It wasn’t a pleasant parting of ways between Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell - both of whom worked together on The X Factor UK and America’s Got Talent
Television personality, entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell, 63, has produced many popular music reality TV shows around the world and has launched the careers of the likes of Harry Styles, Leona Lewis, Noah Cyrus, and Susan Boyle among others.
On one of these shows he produced - The X Factor UK - featured Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager, as a panel member. Sharon, 70, departed from the show in 2008 after four seasons as a judge. She returned multiple times before withdrawing for the final time in 2018.
But it wasn’t a pleasant parting of ways between the two with Sharon saying Simon - whose mother was from Birmingham - treated her unfairly.
Her accusations against Simon Cowell
Sharon said that she was “signed on to do another show at the time.” She further said that she missed the opportunity to be a judge on The Masked Singer, according to the U.S. Sun.
“I was signed, and I had to go to England, and then Simon Cowell changed his mind and thought I was too old,” she said. According to Osbourne, Cowell said: “She’s old. We need somebody young.”
Sharon had worked with Simon on America’s Got Talent as well, but doesn’t approve of how women are paid on those shows. “It is a boys club, okay, it is, and the boys take care of each other, and the women are not paid as much as the men,” she said of both The X Factor and AGT.
What she said about the show
In a Facebook announcement, quoted by Vanity Fair, she wrote, “After watching the new season #XFactor unfold, I’ve seen the new judges finding their rhythm and are doing brilliantly.
“Simon was so gracious to find me a spot on the live shows but at this point I really don’t think I’m needed and I would honestly feel odd coming in at this point.
“So I have decided to pass on the series this year. I wish the show continued success and as much as I love to get my face on TV you will have to do without me this season.”
However, in a previous interview with Howard Stern, she said she didn’t participate in the auditions since she doesn’t want to “have those kids singing in my face.”
She told Stern: “Those little s***s. They all suck. It is like, ‘Hey, is this f*****g karaoke or what?’” About Simon, she said he’s a “pain in the a**e” who will stop at nothing to get his “f*****g fat face on TV.”
During an episode of The Talk, from which she was fired last year, in 2018, she had advice for Simon. “If you want young, fire yourself,” she said, according to USA Today. She added: “And, get rid of those man (breasts), and you’ll be fine.”
What the X Factor representatives said
In a statement, the show’s respresentatives said: “The X Factor can confirm Sharon Osbourne has decided not to return to this year’s show. Sharon will always be a big part of The X Factor family and we wish her all the best for the future.”