Simon Cowell

Simon Philip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is a British A & R (artist and repertoire) executive for BMG Records. He is probably best known as a judge on the television programs The X-Factor and American Idol.

I'm putting up the money, and I also have ears.

Quotes

2000s

• Very simple. I'm putting up the money, and I also have ears.
  • On Americans who question his right to judge Americans since he is British
  • Quoted in Bill Keveney, "Viewers 'Idol'-ize this saucy search for a superstar," USA Today (18 June 2002)

• The host is pathetic! The show is pathetic! The audience is pathetic!
  • On the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards
  • Quoted in "MTV hypefest turns into snoozer", originally published in the Chicago Sun-Times, August 30 2002

• You know Paula, who I couldn't look at the beginning of the series... I love her to death now. I hate to admit it but I do.
  • Quoted on Entertainment Tonight (21 May 2003)

• Sinitta and Jackie are my family now. I don't think of them as ex-girlfriends anymore. They are an extension of my life... It must be infuriating, but I'd never change because my ex-girlfriends are so close I couldn't imagine life without them.
  • Quoted in mirror.co.uk interview (22 October 2005)

• Normally, they want me to be rude to them. People come up to me and sing, and I say "That was great. Thank you." And they're like "Well, aren't you going to be rude to me?" No! When I miss auditions, contestants get upset that I'm not there, because they expect me to be cruel to them — it's some sort of badge of honor. That's how crazy everything is.
  • Quoted in interview, Playboy magazine (February 2007)

• If I tape an 11-hour day, guess which parts end up on air. Not the bits when I'm pleasant, but the parts when I'm obnoxious.
  • Quoted in interview, Playboy magazine (February 2007)

2010s

• I changed my diet and I’ve not looked back since. You feel better, you look better. I cut out a lot of the stuff I shouldn’t have been eating and that was primarily meat, dairy, wheat, sugar — those were the four main things. … Once you get into a pattern I’ve found it quite enjoyable. It has helped me sleep and I wake up feeling less tired. I noticed a massive difference in how I felt in about a week. I have more energy and focus and it wasn’t difficult. I don’t like to use the word diet because that’s the reason I never went on a diet before — the word diet makes me miserable.
  • Quoted in "Meat-loving Simon Cowell reveals he’s gone VEGAN as he turns 60 this year", thesun.co.uk (23 April 2019)