Category Entertainment News

Simon Cowell has hit back at previous X Factor contestants who have complained about him, and insisted that they all knew what they were signing up for at the time

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Simon Cowell has hit out at the former X Factor contestants who have complained about him. The music mogul, 66, headed up the ITV juggernaut that launched the careers of stars like One Direction, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs, but has come under fire in recent times from those who he helped put on the map.

Jade Thirlwall, who on The X Factor in 2011 as part of Little Mix, famously claimed in her solo song Angel Of My Dreams that she had “sold [her] soul to a psycho,” and this was widely interpreted as a dig at Simon, who offered the winners a recording contract through his Syco record label. Katie Waissel, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother after placing seventh place in 2010, has been vocal about her time on the show, and a host of former contestants spoke of the “tears, trauma and anxiety” they had endured more than a decade on from taking part.

But Simon hit back at those claims as he said: “It’s the music business so my job is to make money for you and me and that was the deal. If I saw an opportunity, you jump on it”.

READ MORE: Jade Thirlwall says ‘I struggled the most’ as she talks tearful worry with Little MixREAD MORE: Simon Cowell’s boyband December 10 set for second series

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The Britain’s Got Talent judge also claimed that anyone who launched a successful career off the back of The X Factor benefited massively in a financial sense and insisted they all knew what they were letting themselves in for by applying to be on the programme in the first place.

During a chat on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, he told Richard Osman and Marina Hyde: “The vast majority of people have made a lot of money and got what they wanted which was fame, so certain people, they’ve just got it in for me.

” There’s nothing I can do about it, they signed up to what they knew the show was about, and if you don’t like that, then I suggest you become an accountant or a gardener or something where no one knows who you are and you won’t have that problem. “

When Jade came out with her song featuring the cryptic lyric, representatives for Simon were quick to defend the music manager. A representative for Syco told the Mirror at the time: “The entire team who worked incredibly hard behind the scenes with Little Mix to help make the group a success would continue to wish them all solo success.”

Jade also responded to the rumours and said that it explained her “journey” in the music industry. She told Beat Juice: “It’s not specifically about that. But I wanted the song to be my journey, from entering the music business to now, and what that felt like. That’s why the song feels so chaotic. The opening is like the music to that montage bit on The X Factor after you’ve won and you’re just catapulted into the industry.”

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Meanwhile, Jade’s single It Girl also caused fans to speculate on the meaning behind the lyrics. Throughout the song, Jade sings about working in showbiz and in the final line she sings, “It’s a no from me” – leading some to question whether it’s a reference to her time on The X Factor after she auditioned for the show on three occasions.

Taking to social media to comment on the reference, one queried:” The ‘ It’s a no from me ‘ reference in the end is a masterpiece! “Another added:” omg is that Simon Cowell shade. “

In a recent appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast earlier this year, singer was questioned about the lyrics. “Syco happens to be the name of Simon Cowell ’s company,” Louis said.

” Coincidentally, yes, “Jade added in response”. Is that what we’re gonna say about that?, “Louis asked”. Mmm, “Jade said, adding:” I mean, it’s written on the tin, isn’t it, really? “

Former Coronation Street star, Helen Flanagan, lashed out at her ex, Scott Sinclair, on Tuesday on social media as she branded him ‘ a piece of s**t ‘ for reportedly missing their son’s school play

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It’s been a rocky road for parents-of-three, Helen Flanagan and Scott Sinclair, who called time on their relationship in 2022.

The former Coronation Street actress, 35, and football star, 36, who co-parent their three kids, Matilda, Charlie and Delilah, were once splashed all over magazine covers, gushing over their fairy tale romance. However, since they split, it’s become more of a nightmare, culminating in Helen this week branding her ex a ‘piece of s**t’, after he reportedly missed their son’s nativity play.

So, as we wait for a response from Scott as the dust settles between the pair, here’s a look at their rocky relationship over the years after Helen admitted that the former couple do love each other, but ‘ don’t like each other at all… ‘

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READ MORE: Inside Helen Flanagan and Scott Sinclair’s bitter split as she lashes out at ex before ChristmasREAD MORE: Helen Flanagan launches savage sweary outburst at ex-fiance Scott Sinclair

‘ We don’t like each other at all ‘

A year after welcoming their third child and moving into a new house in Cheshire, Helen shocked fans with the news that she and Scott had split after hitting a ‘ rough patch’.

After finally calling it quits after a number of reconciliations, she spoke to Charlotte Dawson on her podcast last year and insisted that she and Scott did love each other, but ‘ didn’t like each other at all’.

Lifting the lid on their rocky relationship, Helen said: “I still love him very much, I care about him deeply, but we don’t like each other. We don’t like each other at all, we don’t get on. I do know that Scott – he’d never admit it – cares about me too and he does love me”.

She added: The last time I saw him, I thought it was quite funny, I was taking the p*** out of him because he had a bucket hat on. I think he was trying not to laugh. “

‘ Break-ups are sad ‘

Opening up about her relationship with The Sun earlier this year, the Rosie Webster star spoke of her sadness over the split, saying:” Break-ups are so sad, and if you can deal with it in a way where you’re on good terms, it’s better for your mental health and 100% better for the kids. “

However, it’s not always peace and love for Helen and Scott – who is notoriously private about his former relationship – as the actress admitted that the pair do continue to clash with one another.

Claiming their families still get on, despite the pair still telling each other to ‘ f*** off ‘ she continued:” Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we still end up telling each other to f**k off! However, we’ve managed to keep things quite nice and we’ve been fair to each other. It’s helped that our families get on and I have a good relationship with his mum. “

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‘ We’re happier apart ‘

Despite still caring for one another and getting on with Scott’s mum, Helen talked about how she finally pulled the plug on the relationship with the footballer after struggling to make it work.

” Me and Scott really loved each other, but we were always quietly breaking up and then getting back together, so it had been a long time coming, “she said earlier this year.

Admitting they were happier apart, she concluded:” In the end, it was me who decided. I’ll always be sad it didn’t work out and we still have love for each other, but we’re happier apart. “

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Helen fumes at Scott

Helen was left raging on Tuesday evening and let her feelings about her former fiancé known – as she labelled him a piece of s**t on her Instagram.

Scott shared an array of snaps from his weekend at the Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi, which included views of the race course, drinks with friends and a sizeable yacht. He captioned the post:” What a weekend-Abu Dhabi F1″.

However, accusing her ex of missing their son’s nativity play at school, Helen snapped:” You really are a piece of s*** @scotty_sinclair how dare you not turn up to Charlie’s nativity”. She followed the dig with a picture of her and Charlie and said he was the ‘ best boy’.

The Mirror has contacted Scott’s representatives for comment and a response to Helen’s claims.

Rob Reiner’s daughter, Romy, discovered her father at home just hours after he and his wife had been brutally murdered – but she had no idea her mother was also dead

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Rob Reiner’s daughter had no idea her mum had also been murdered. The Hollywood director and his wife, Michele, were found murdered at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, this weekend.

The couple had their throats slit by a relative. Their son, Nick Reiner, 32, has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after the deaths of his parents. It’s claimed that Nick and his father became engaged in a heated argument on Saturday night while attending a Christmas party hosted by Conan O’Brien.

On Sunday, Rob and Michele had planned to have a massage at their mansion. But when the masseuse rang the bell, they received no answer, leading them to knock on the door several times. After still getting no answer, Romy, 28, who lived across the road from her parents, visited the property with a roommate to check on her parents.

READ MORE: Rob Reiner death updates: Son Nick ‘placed on suicide watch’ as he’s charged with murderREAD MORE: Will Nick Reiner face the death penalty? Everything we know

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Now, reports have emerged sharing the devastating outcome of Romy’s concerns for her parents. After entering the property, Romy discovered her dad and instantly fled the scene. Her roommate called for the emergency services while Romy also contacted her dad’s friend, Billy Crystal.

But Romy is said to have had no idea that her mum had also been brutally murdered. The New York Times reported that Romy only discovered her mum had been killed when police and paramedics arrived on the scene, and she was then informed of the devastating news.

Nick, however, was not located at the property when the emergency services responded to calls at around 3: 40pm local time on Sunday. He is believed to have checked into the Pierside Santa Monica at 4am, and staff reportedly discovered the shower “full of blood”, as well as a trail leading from his bed and bedsheets. His parents were discovered less than 11 hours later by their daughter, Romy, at 3: 30pm.

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And now, Nick, who has been charged with the murders of his parents, faces life behind bars. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced two counts of first-degree murder against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hochman said no decision has been made if prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Hochman said: “I’m here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner accused of killing his parents. These charges will be two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife.

” These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. No decision at this point has been made with the respect to the death penalty. Nick Reiner is being held without bail. I want to announce these are just charges. Charges are not evidence. Evidence is something that will be presenting in a court of law. “

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell explained that shortly after arriving on the scene over the weekend, officers from the Robbery Homicide Division and Homicide Special Section instantly launched an investigation. Police then gathered evidence which has resulted in the arrest of the couple’s son Nick Reiner, McDonnell said. He was taken into custody that night.

McDonnell added:” This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for our entire city. We extend our deepest condolences to all of those who are affected by this tragedy. “

While Nick was previously detained on $4million bail, this has since been revoked. He is expected to make his first in-person appearance at court later today, having not been medically cleared to attend on Tuesday.

Jason Donovan, the star of the Aussie, has been open about a once hard-partying lifestyle, revealing shockingly that his cocaine binges could last up to six days at one point during the 1990s.

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At the height of his Neighbours fame, 80s heartthrob Jason Donovan was the picture of the clean-cut boy next door.

But as the soap legend has revealed, by the 90s he was fighting cocaine addiction – and at one point, was snorting up to three grammes of the drug a day – with binges that could last up to six days.

The Australian star, 57, opened up about his darkest days on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast – and as he spoke about that drug-fuelled chapter said, “I got vilified in the 90s for announcing on a news show once that, ‘why did I take drugs?’ because I liked them, which was the truth at the time.”

READ MORE: ‘Aldi refused to sell me popcorn for reason you’d least expect’

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Host Jamie, who welcomed baby boy Ziggy with wife Sophie Haboo earlier this month, added: “You said this, at that period of your life, you were consuming three grammes of cocaine a day. “You had the freedom and ability to do it. You meet your wife and your kid is born, what is that moment that you go, ‘I’m not doing this’.”

The singer and musical theatre star said, “Yes, there were days, weekends that would begin on Thursday and sometimes not end until the following Tuesday or whatever. ” Incredibly, he took three grams of cocaine a day.

“But it was a binge, not a consistent situation in the vein of heroin,” she continued. At some point, your body must shut down, particularly if you take cocaine. He continued, “I’ll also assert that because I kept working, I was able to shut down.”

Jamie then responded, “I just did, I could just do that,” and Jason responded, “How did you balance that?” I’m a bit of an all-or-nothing kind of guy and quite disciplined. I have spent the majority of my life working out, and that’s what knocks on your door.

You’ve done your big three-day or something, and you walk out and feel great and then go see Jason, that’s how you can feel if you don’t get back on it again. “Just go to the gym, have a steam, have a swim, and walk out.”

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He continued, “Come on, let’s do a cheeky one, let’s blow it all up again,” and that you would feel good for two days until that little demon would appear and vanish. That was the issue.

Now 20 years clean, Jason confessed that he called his hard-partying lifestyle a day as it had become ‘boring’ – and he realised all he was doing was ‘chasing his own tail’ – as he detailed the worst aspects of his former coke habit.

When the paranoia begins to set in, especially with cocaine, 24 hours later, you mistakenly believe the MI5 are hiding out. The good news is that I haven’t done anything in 20 years and now know what I don’t want to.

And Jason told Jamie what inspired him to turn his life around was meeting his future wife, Angela Malloch in 1998, when she was stage manager for a musical he was starring in, who eventually gave him an ultimatum – his party lifestyle or her..

Meeting my wife was the “catalyst of change.” She didn’t alter me, but I did so at that time. He explained the birth of Jemma and the realization that I could leave now. “The body needed to repair when I was still in my 30s.” I hadn’t blown out, so there was still time to get back.

The couple, who had three children together, Jemma, Zac, and Molly, later tied the knot in 2008 and were able to survive those challenging circumstances.

*Frank provides unrestricted information on drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, call 82111, or text frank@talktofrank.com, call 0300 123 6600), or the NHS has information on how to get help.