American ‘X Factor’ Fires Pop Star Cheryl Cole As Judge, Reportedly Because of Her Heavy Brit Accent (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on May 26, 2011
British pop star Cheryl Cole has been fired from 'X Factor'
The fickleness of Hollywood and Simon Cowell strike again…
Reported by Starpulse, Cheryl Cole Dropped From ‘The X Factor’ Over Her Thick Accent; Will Be Replaced By Nicole Scherzinger:
British pop star Cheryl Cole has been dropped as a judge on the U.S. version of Simon Cowell’s The X Factor and replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, according to a new report.
Cole was due to appear on the Stateside launch of the show with fellow judges L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul and Cowell, but TMZ.com now claims the British beauty is no longer part of the talent show line-up.
The website reports that producers feared Cole’s English accent would be too difficult for American audiences to understand.
It is believed former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger, who was set to co-host the program, will now step in to fill the void.
Welsh TV personality Steve Jones is still expected to present the show, which will debut in America later this year.
Auditions for The X Factor kicked off in Los Angeles earlier this month.
Cheryl was signed to a nearly $2 million per year contract; however a clause was included in it so that producers could drop her if she couldn’t win over U.S. viewers. Sounds to us like she didn’t even have a chance.
ITN News: Cheryl Cole ‘binned’ from US X Factor
From MTV, ‘X Factor’ Judge Cheryl Cole Reportedly Replaced:
On the same night that his former cohorts at “American Idol” were celebrating unprecedented voting totals in the showdown between Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina and crowning their new champ, former “Idol” lead judge Simon Cowell was reportedly putting out a major fire on his upcoming show “X Factor.”
After announcing with much fanfare earlier this month that one of his favorite “Factor” judges from the original U.K. version, Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole, would be joining him, fellow ex-”Idol” panelist Paula Abdul and former music industry honcho Antonio “L.A.” Reid on the “Factor” panel, TMZ reported that Cole had been unexpectedly dumped from the show.
A spokesperson for “X Factor” did not return requests for comment at press time, but TMZ added that former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who was to serve as one of two hosts on the show, was tapped to replace Cole. The gossip site later explained that Cole was removed “largely because producers were concerned her thick Newcastle English accent would be too difficult for an American audience to understand,” citing unnamed sources close to the show.
There was reportedly also a lack of chemistry between Cole and Abdul, but the bigger issue is how producers will deal with Cole’s presence at the March 27 Los Angeles audition rounds when the show is cut for airing in September.
From The Daily Beast, X Factor Fires Cheryl Cole:
That didn’t last long: The American version of Simon Cowell’s new show, The X Factor, has fired judge Cheryl Cole after just weeks, apparently over concerns of her thick British accent and low U.S. profile.
This aired just a few weeks ago — you can hear Cole’s accent in the video. Cowell supported her as an “X Factor” judge then — how quickly things change.
Telegraph TV:Cheryl Cole, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell in LA as X Factor auditions kick off
Update, June 6, 2011: It’s now official. Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger has replaced Cheryl Cole on X Factor.
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