Simon Cowell has expressed regret over his, Amanda Holden's, and Piers Morgan's 'awful and horrible' treatment of Susan Boyle during her 2009 Britain's Got Talent audition. In a new interview, the music mogul, 66, described the panel's reactions as 'disgusting' and admitted the audition served as a 'wake-up call' for him.
Susan Boyle, now 65, stunned the nation when she walked onto the stage and delivered a breathtaking rendition of I Dreamed A Dream. However, before she sang, the judges—Cowell, Holden, and Morgan—were caught on camera exchanging sceptical glances and making dismissive comments.
Speaking on the first episode of Celebrity Trenches with Jamie East, Cowell reflected on his behaviour. Host Jamie East remarked, 'Her audition to look back on is just awful. No one in that audition bathed themselves in a nice light did they?'
Cowell replied, 'I look back and I just think, "my God we look so awful, horrible." I actually don't think we look bad enough. I think we were even worse than that and they went, "you look awful." And I said, "we are awful!" All of us. I mean that look that Piers gives me, I think out of all the looks I've ever remembered that might be the worst. I was just as bad.'
He continued, 'Of course I had the ability to cut all of that stuff out but it was a bit of a wake up call. You can't judge a book by its cover. We do look disgusting but you have to hold your hands up at that moment and go, "A lot of people are going to realise in about 24 hours that we are just horrible."'
Susan Boyle previously revealed that she felt like an 'act in a freak show' during her first audition. She told the Irish Mirror, 'It felt quite suffocating, almost as though I was an act in a freak show, and that hurt. It was incredibly difficult to come to terms with for a time, but the positives have far outweighed the negatives.'
She added, 'Everyone was laughing at me; they wondered who this daft woman with the crazy hair was... and I had made a bad choice in clothes, so no-one had high expectations.'
Susan had the last laugh when she became one of the most iconic reality show contestants ever. Since then, her global star appearances and recordings have earned her an estimated fortune of £30 million. Over the past year, she has undergone a busy rebrand period, focusing on fitness and a 'glow up' makeover, including a new blonde hairstyle.
Her social media output has also increased noticeably. She has posted snaps with famous faces like Sir Elton John, Peter Kay, Lionel Richie, Masterchef star Marcus Wareing, and Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell on Instagram, where she has amassed 178,000 followers. She has become more playful in her posts, sharing an Oasis T-shirt and bucket hat photo, as well as childhood pictures. She has even started promoting her own Subo merchandise, featuring clothing and accessories priced between £13 and £50.
