Simon Cowell Apologizes For His Famously Blunt ‘American Idol’ Judging: ‘I’m Not Proud’

Simon Cowell is apologizing for his curt reputation as an American Idol judge, admitting that he grew “fed up” during the “long and boring” musical auditions.

“I’m not proud of it, let’s put it that way,” Cowell, 66 — who was a judge on the competitive singing show from 2002 to 2010, alongside Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson — told the New York Times on Saturday, November 29.

Some of Cowell’s most savage interactions include him rolling his eyes and calling performances “grotesque” and “horrendous.”

Cowell, who appears in the upcoming Netflix show, Simon Cowell: The Next Act, told the Times that he avoids watching some videos of himself, explaining, “When I hear about these clips, I’m like, ‘Oh, God.’ But then again, the upside is that it made the shows really popular worldwide.”

Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA

“I wasn’t trying to be a [expletive] on purpose,” Cowell, who shares son Eric, 11, with fiancée Lauren Silverman, told the Times. “All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label.”

“So when all these people were coming in and they couldn’t sing, I would be like when I used to audition people and someone would come in and they can’t sing,” he continued. “We would say after 10 seconds, ‘You can’t sing.’ Not, ‘You’re going to be brilliant.’”

“That’s why I changed over time. I did realize I’ve probably gone too far. I didn’t particularly like audition days, because they’re long and boring,” Cowell added. “I would get fed up. And of course, out of a hundred nice comments, what are they going to use? They’re always going to use me in a bad mood. I got that. What can I say? I’m sorry.”

When asked by the Times what Cowell was specifically sorry for, he replied: “Well, just being a [explicit].”

This story Simon Cowell Apologizes For His Famously Blunt ‘American Idol’ Judging: ‘I’m Not Proud’ first appeared on Globe. Add Globe as a Preferred Source by clicking here.