Simon Cowell Named His 1 One Direction Regret, And People Aren’t Happy
Simon Cowell is facing a backlash for comments he made during his appearance on Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO podcast.
During the podcast interview, the talent show mogul spoke about his career, grief, and whether he thought boyband One Direction would ever reunite, after the group announced a hiatus back in 2016.
Reflecting on his time as the head of One Direction’s label, Simon said he’d told the five-piece: “Our goal is for you to have enough hits that if you ever reform, you can do stadium tours.”
He added that for this to happen, they’d need around 10 hit singles, but admitted to the host that the group were unlikely to reunite at this point.
Simon then said: “One thing I regret is I should have owned the [band] name”, adding that the band actually own the name.”
He explained: “I could have made an animation or whatever, but when you give an artist the name, it’s not yours, and that’s my only regret.”
“If you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you,” the Britain’s Got Talent judge then joked.
Alluding to Zayn Malik’s exit from the band in 2015, Simon said: “If one of the members for whatever reason, say they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others touring. So if it was me that owned the name, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
These comments haven’t gone down well with fans of the band, who are accusing Simon of still wanting to profit from the band all of these years later...
Fuck simon cowell those boys were so exhausted and overworked. “It wouldn’t be a problem” fuck you??? Your regret should’ve been the way you treated them mf https://t.co/X6dH269oWn
— 𝕽🥀 (@Scream_Inside_) June 11, 2024
Simon Cowell saw those boys as walking money bags and nothing more
— 𓂆 noor 🇵🇸 (@allthislouis91) June 10, 2024
simon cowell going on the same podcast where liam payne opened up ab how overworked he was in one direction and how that led to his troubles w alcoholism to say the only thing he regrets ab one direction is not owning the name.,,. that man is despicable fr
— eli🥀 (@fireproofelijah) June 11, 2024
this whole entire app really said f*ck Simon Cowell today and im here for it
— Sarah☀️ (@my1direction_5) June 11, 2024
His only regret is not being able to exploit the for years after they last recorded any material together?
Yeah it’s no surprise that artists like Little Mix & Rebecca Ferguson have spent YEARS trying to tell us how disgusting Simon Cowell is.
He does NOT care about artists. https://t.co/2jQ6qjPEG4— Michael King (@MiichaelKing) June 10, 2024
I just don't buy Simon Cowell's PR strategy to project a softer & more caring public image. Not one little bit. Haven't forgotten how he humiliated people on national TV for years. Get in the bin 🚮 https://t.co/plCustDnMe
— Jonny Harvey (@iamjonnyharvey) June 10, 2024
simon cowell is unreal for saying his only 1D regret is not owning their name, any artist /group / band / singer whatever should 1000% own their own name because of people like him
— Laura 🌞💧 (@lauralikely_) June 11, 2024
Listening to Simon Cowell's talk reminds me of how Taylor said it never ends for artists if they do not own it they are gonna be always exploited and their art is used against them to control and manipulate them no matter how much I loved them I am glad boys are free from him
— notyourfan (@roseAndDragger) June 10, 2024
Zayn Malik and Liam Payne had both discussed the impact that being in One Direction had on their mental health and wellbeing.
Liam actually also featured on the Diary Of A CEO podcast in 2021, and said: “The day the band ended, I was like, ‘thank the Lord for that’. And I know a lot of people are gonna be mad at me for saying that, but I needed to stop or it would kill me.”
Meanwhile, Zayn left the band back in 2015, citing stress as his main motivator for his departure. The band have made no indication that they’ll be reuniting, particularly since the rest of the group are still experiencing varying levels of solo success.
