Simon Cowell 'hated himself' for this cruel Britain's Got Talent moment

has revealed the one moment on that made him "hate his own guts". The music mogul, 65, has been a judge on the ITV talent competition since 2007 and has watched countless stars shoot to fame after appearing on his shows. Back in August 2018, the entrepreneur received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in honour of his incredible career. On that very day, Simon reflected on contestants who have reached national stardom thanks to shows like Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor.

However, this led him to admit that there is one contestant he wishes he treated differently when they arrived for their first audition. In 2009, Susan Boyle shocked the judges and audience when she performed an unforgettable rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables on Britain's Got Talent. It was clear from the moment Susan, 64, stepped onto the stage that no one expected her to succeed the way she did. Simon later called it a "tipping point" for how he treated contestants on the show.

Speaking to about rewatching the Scottish singer's first audition, he said: "When that clip arrived on my laptop, and I saw me, I said, 'I actually hate my guts right now.' Because we were really sneery. That was the tipping point."

Susan finished in second place behind dance group Diversity and went on to become one of the most successful talent show contestants of all time. She is now rumoured to be worth a staggering £22 million.

The musician has accumulated wealth from her several albums and holds the record for being the oldest female artist to reach No.1 with a debut album, I Dreamed a Dream.

As of 2025, Susan has sold over 25 million records worldwide and she has also performed for important figures, including the Queen and the Pope.

Last week, to quash rumours of a fix after he allowed an audience member to audition during the latest episode. ASpeaking from the audience, the man calling out: "Simon, Simon, 19 years I've tried to get in front of you. Can you give me an opportunity?".

Despite initially questioning whether it was a setup, Simon allowed Max Fox to take to the stage where he delivered a powerful rendition of Frank Sinatra's iconic My Way, ultimately bagging the final golden buzzer of the series.

Afterwards, Simon addressed allegations that the incident was pre-arranged, saying: "I think I should be wired to a lie detector machine in the future to prove I'm speaking the truth because when something like this happens people instantly shout fix.

"In this case do you really think I could be bothered to plant someone in the audience? No. But that's exactly what happened."