Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Simon Cowell: The Producers Are Being Mean

Simon Cowell is saying what I said in my post last week: the judges aren't being particularly mean this season, but the producers are editing the show to take some cheap shots. I said it about the treatment of a large girl (Simon made his comment about her size AFTER the girl left the room but the producers left it in and added some cheesy sound effects to drive home the point that the girl was big). Simon concurs.
"You know, when you meet somebody in real life and they leave the room, then you say something," Cowell said on a recent "Good Day LA" appearance. "We all do it, that's what's getting me into trouble."

Cowell said he didn't know what would make it onto the air and cringed when he saw the episodes where he talked about contestants behind their backs.

"I didn't see the shows until you guys [viewers] saw them and [when I did], it's like, hide under the covers."

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

He still said his joke, even if he didn't expect them to put it on tv it was a mean thing to say.

Anonymous said...

Simon is a jerk. Full stop.

Anonymous said...

Being frank with contestants in regards to their talent (more often lack of) is proper in the atmosphere of auditions. Also comments about people's size, flamboyance, appearance also has a place in auditions of this nature. But these comments should be made in a professional mature manner. If I made a joke about a person in my job, even if it was meant to be private and after the fact, I would reprimanded if not fired. It's seems obvious he made these comments for the sake of the show and is now trying to make excuses. And it worked, the shows ratings are higher then ever and it is getting more press due to these comments.

Michael in New York said...

I think you're right on most counts sftom. Simon certainly knew the cameras were still running. But since his comment was directed at the girl (she'd left) the producers didn't have to include it and they certainly didn't need to add the offensive "stomping" sound effects to emphasize how heavy she was. I still blame them more than Simon for meanspiritedness. But as you say, most of their comments are completely appropriate at an audition and they often spend far more time being nice than any "real" audition would. All these kids would hear two seconds after they opened their mouths is "NEXT!"

Anonymous said...

The judges are no different than they always were. Simon is blunt, nothing more. (What? A 300 lb guy may not be an ideal pop idol? What a shock! Anyone heard from Ruben lately?) And Paula and Randy try to keep him in check without totally leading on kids who haven't a clue or a voice.