SIMON’S ‘RELIEF’ OVER X FACTOR AXE
After running for an astonishing 17 years and launching the careers of countless pop stars, Simon Cowell has finally pulled the plug on The X Factor after accepting it’s “become a bit stale”.
The show helped discover and create the likes of One Direction, Little Mix and Leona Lewis. But in recent months, it’s been subject to claims of “poor treatment” and “exploitation” by former contestants, including Rebecca Ferguson, who has called for a parliamentary inquiry to help protect other young artists.
Meanwhile, Katie Waissel – who was delighted by the axing – previously told Closer, “It’s not what it seems. Past contestants and myself included are still undertaking therapy for PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] caused by the show... I found myself contemplating suicide.”
The X Factor strongly denied the claims, saying, “Duty of care to our contestants is of the utmost importance to us. We take welfare very seriously and have measures in place to ensure that they are supported.”
A source tells Closer that Simon, 61 – who has been on holiday in Barbados with his girlfriend Lauren Silverman and son Eric, seven – is looking forward to having more family time, explaining, “It’s sad because The X Factor was Simon’s ‘baby’ – his main project – but he’s also relieved because now he is hoping to spend more time with his family. He wants to be as much of a hands-on dad as possible with Eric, so he’s taking that as a positive from all of this.”