Simon Cowell apologises for harsh criticism at 'American Idol': I’m sorry

Los Angeles, Dec 2 (PTI) Television personality Simon Cowell, best known for being one of the judges at the singing competition show "American Idol", says he is aware of the harsh criticism from his side towards the contestants and isn't proud of it.

Cowell apologised for his comments on The New York Times‘ podcast The Interview and said he did realise he went too far with his judgment.

"I did realize I’d probably gone too far...I didn’t particularly like audition days, because they’re long and boring. I would get fed up. And of course, out of a hundred nice comments, what are they going to use? They’re always going to use me in a bad mood. I got that. What can I say? I’m sorry," he said.

"All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label. So when all these people were coming in and they couldn’t sing, we would say after 10 seconds, ‘You can’t sing.’ Not, ‘You’re going to be brilliant,'" he added.

Cowell was the judge on the show between 2002 and 2010. He was also an original judge on “Pop Idol”, the British series which inspired "American Idol".

He added that despite the harsh criticism, the clips with his comments did boost the popularity of the show.

"I’m not proud of it, let’s put it that way. When I hear about these clips...But then again, the upside is that it made the shows really popular worldwide," he said. PTI ATR ATR ATR