Simon Cowell's nasty habit

Ever more acerbic 'Idol' judge chalks it up to nicotine cravings -- and telling it like it is

January 23, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
Any cigarette smoker will tell you when you go too long without a fix, you get grumpy. "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is the country's reigning king of harsh words -- and he smokes. So I ask him if he gets even blunter when a nicotine fit kicks in.
"You mean when I'm doing auditions?" he says. "It's a long day. It's 12 hours. Working with those two [Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson] is a nightmare at times. And you get a bit ratty, so I go have my cigarette break and I get better."
Cowell's latest flareup -- mocking a singer who had been in Special Olympics, and calling another a "bush baby" -- brought out the ethical ninnies last week. The "bush baby" guy, now going by the name Michael Swale, said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that Cowell should apologize. Journalists and other failed contestants are acting as if Cowell has finally gone too far.
Riiiight.
If you believe that, check the ratings. They've never been higher, because his straight shooting (or, depending on your point of view, his cruelty) is exactly what viewers crave while hearing horrible singers, which is the most obvious observation I have ever written.
Cowell's persona must be gnawing at him a little, though. In a few episodes this season, he sometimes prefaces harsh words by saying, "I'm not being rude, but. ..." He says to loud people in a hallway, "I'm not being rude, but can you shut up?!" I ask Cowell why he's using this buffer.
"Probably just to make the point I'm not being personal or gratuitous about it," he says. "I'm trying to offer some sanity to what can sometimes be an insane day."
I tell him he looks surprised when people think he's rude.
"Yeah, I'm surprised," he says. "I thought everyone would be shaking my hand: 'Thank you for steering me down the right path, Simon.' "
Cowell does regret some things he's said over the years, including the "bush baby" bit.
"The fact that I'm 47 years old coming to America talking about bush babies is sort of surreal. I think it was an off-the-cuff remark I made, and if he's offended, then I'll apologize. I'll never call anyone a bush baby again."
Pressed about the matter, Cowell rolls his eyes. He will be contrite, but he bears little patience with anyone's browbeating. Except maybe his own.
"There are times, trust me, when I watch [episodes] and I just think, 'God, I wish I hadn't have said that,' and, 'Why do they put it in the show?' " he says. "But we are prepared to show the warts as well as just the good things. ... I think that's why the audience trusts us."
It's commendable for a TV star to stick to his guns in the face of public rebukes over unpopular positions, particularly his take on Jennifer Hudson, who lost "Idol" but now is winning awards for her role in "Dreamgirls," and his disdain for Taylor Hicks, last year's "Idol" champ.
Hudson "should come back on and gloat," Cowell says. "You gotta remember I was one of her main supporters in the beginning. If it hadn't been for 'Idol,' she wouldn't have been picked to do 'Dreamgirls.' The public voted her off, not me, [although] I don't think she was good enough to win the year she was on."
"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest said last week that judges influence viewers' votes. But Cowell says, "Obviously not, because Taylor Hicks won last year.
"I still say Taylor Hicks was not the best singer on 'American Idol 5.' I think he was the most popular. And at the end of the day, record sales will prove me right or prove me wrong."
Tell me. Where is Cowell incorrect anywhere in these comments?