Britain’s Got Talent head judge Simon Cowell has confirmed he is still friends with Sharon Osbourne after her feud with TV personality Amanda Holden. Earlier in the month, Osbourne, 71, responded on X to a Daily Mail article in which Holden seemed to reference her remarks on Celebrity Big Brother about Cowell being someone who “doesn’t know how to keep friends”.
Osbourne appeared on the ITV show alongside Louis Walsh when it was rebooted this year. Holden, 53, who is on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent, which made a return to screens on Saturday evening, is quoted as saying that she “hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon” and claimed that he helped their careers.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Cowell 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. 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.
In her post, Osbourne wrote that Holden did not know her “history in the music industry, my achievements, the artists I have worked with, the shows that I’ve produced, and my global celebrity”.
The former manager of The Smashing Pumpkins and Motorhead added that “the brand of Sharon Osbourne is known worldwide” and she has been “blessed with an amazing lifestyle throughout my entire life”, pointing to homes in the US and the UK. In the newspaper article, Holden is quoted as saying: “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.
“It’s bitter and pathetic. It was like Cinderella with her two sisters in the background – just stabby, stabby, stabby.”
Holden compared watching the return of Celebrity Big Brother to a “pantomime” and added that people should have “respect for the opportunity that was given to you and the pay cheque that was given to you”.
During Osbourne’s appearance on the ITV reality series as a celebrity lodger, she and Irish talent manager Walsh, 71, made several comments about famous faces including Cowell. Former X Factor judge Walsh said “I haven’t talked to him at all, nothing, zero”, referring to Cowell.
Osbourne said: “But that’s Simon. He cuts you off. He doesn’t know how to keep friends.”
Cowell also revealed to the Daily Mirror that he is working on a second TV talent show – which he says he hopes will involve former co-star Cheryl whom he reunited with during Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. “Cheryl was brilliant on the show, great to work with, really good fun – and there might be something coming up where we might be working together, funnily enough,” he said.
“I can’t tell you much at the moment. I don’t think it will be on a streaming service, this one, and it won’t be X Factor. But it will be TV because Cheryl is great on TV. She’s fantastic.”
