Simon Cowell has opened up about his friendships with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh after their shocking Celebrity Big Brother rant.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge, 64, found himself the target of their scathing words while on the reality programme, as former X Factor judges Sharon and Louis, both 71, didn’t hold back.
Just weeks earlier, Sharon claimed she and Simon were never friends at all, and she’s since turned her fury towards Amanda Holden, as the pair have become embroiled in a row in the last few days.
Music manager Sharon worked for Simon during stints on both The X Factor and America’s Got Talent between 2004 and 2017, while Louis starred on The X Factor between 2004 and 2017, and also judged on Ireland’s Got Talent in 2018 and 2019.
While on Celebrity Big Brother, Sharon said wouldn’t return to either role ‘not [for] all the money in the world’, while the duo also discussed how Simon ‘cuts you off’, with Sharon alleging he didn’t ‘know how to keep friends’.
Sharon and Louis then sniped about Simon’s unchanging fashion sense over ‘probably three decades’ as well as staple phrases on the talent shows like ‘do you have another song?’, ‘I didn’t like it, I loved it’ and ‘Tell me your story’.
However, in a new interview, Simon has insisted he still thinks of Sharon and Louis as ‘good friends’ despite their harsh words.
He said: ‘If you put Sharon and Louis in the house, that’s what you pay them for, they’re going to be controversial.
‘I still consider Sharon and Louis really good friends, we could pick up the phone to each other tomorrow. I think that’s probably one of the things they’re upset about, because they can never get hold of me.’
He added to The Mirror: ‘Amanda is a great friend, but I really do believe Sharon and Louis are great friends as well. I don’t have a phone but from what I heard, what they said about me was actually quite funny.
‘And I probably will phone them both in the next week or so, because I haven’t spoken to them for a while and it sounds like I should do.
‘What would I like to say to them? “How are you?” Whenever I meet them, see them, speak to them, it’s like we’ve spoken yesterday. My honest opinion is I think we miss each other.’
Following Sharon and Louis’ words about Simon, his Britain’s Got Talent co-star Amanda jumped to his defence, seeming to slam the stars for ‘dissing’ the media mogul.
She said: ‘I hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon – he’s the person who’s given them all the chances, given them a lot of money and a lifestyle they probably wouldn’t have had.’
Sharon wasted no time responding to the perceived jab that Amanda, 53, made in her Daily Mail chat, tagging her in a lengthy X post pointing out the ‘factual inaccuracies’ in her interview.
Taking to X, she made a very clear point of listing out all of her achievements that Simon wasn’t responsible for, including her pioneering reality show The Osbournes and career as a music manager for bands such as her husband Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath.
Her statement included a paragraph that read: ‘The truth is, you don’t know me, Amanda. You know nothing about my history in the music industry, my achievements, the artists I have worked with, the shows that I’ve produced, and my global celebrity. Unlike you, the brand of Sharon Osbourne is known worldwide.’
In a statement sent to Metro.co.uk, Amanda’s spokesperson said at the time: ‘Amanda is aware of Sharon’s incredible career but, just like her, Amanda will always defend those close to her.’
Amanda has since spoken out herself, telling the Daily Mail exactly what she thinks of the rumours that she and Sharon are at war.
When asked, Amanda refused to comment on Sharon’s outburst, but told the outlet: ‘Oh it’s all b******s. Let’s not give oxygen to any of that.’
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