Sharon Osbourne claims Simon Cowell fired her from The X Factor for being “too old”
Ex-judge accuses former boss of ageism - and says he should fire himselfSharon Osbourne has accused The X Factor supremo Simon Cowell of FIRING her from its judging panel for being “too old”.
Sharon appeared on the ITV talent contest in 2016 and 2017, and was due to return again last year.
Eventually, chiefs downgraded her role, so she’d only appear as a ‘fifth judge’ on the live shows – but she later quit altogether.
At the time, Sharon said she bowed out voluntarily because it would have “felt very, very awkward” coming in halfway through the series.
However, she now claims Simon sacked her – and that there was an element of ageism in his decision.
Speaking across the pond on CBS’s The Talk, the music manager revealed she had to turn down a place on US smash The Masked Singer due to her X Factor commitment.
“I was signed to do another show [X Factor] at the time, I was signed to go to England,” she explained.
“Then Simon Cowell changed his mind and thought I was too old. I was under contract.
“They [The Masked Singer] asked if I wanted to be a judge. I said ‘I can’t, I have to do this’, and then Simon goes, ‘she’s old, we need somebody young’.”
In typical Sharon style, she couldn’t resist throwing in a dig at her former boss.
“If you want young, fire yourself, and get rid of those man tits!” she smirked.
The X Factor has not yet responded to Sharon’s comments.
Her exit last September came after she made several controversial remarks on shock jock Howard Stern’s radio show.
She said Simon will “do whatever” to get his “fat face” on TV, and described young X Factor contestants as “little s**ts” who “all suck”.
At the time, The Sun claimed the interview was the real reason she left. “After that, there was no way Simon Cowell or the executives would have her back,” the newspaper’s source said.
The current X Factor judges are Simon, popstar Robbie Williams, his wife Ayda Williams, and One Direction member Louis Tomlinson.
The Syco mogul recently announced plans to postpone the next regular series, in favour of airing two spin-offs this year.
