Simon Cowell has a long track record of judging singing and talent competition shows and gets paid handsomely to do it, but there’s one job offer he had to turn down because it was so inappropriate.
The 65-year-old television personality recently shared one of his most memorable fan interactions during the Wednesday, May 7 episode of the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast. During their chat, Cowell recalled an instance where one of his fans approached him at a restaurant and asked if he would be interested in judging him and his wife “having sex.”
The star told the podcast listeners that he thought the proposition was a joke and asked, “Are you winding me up?” Cowell went on to detail that the couple offered to pay him $150,000 for his services if he accepted. He also admitted that he had to think about it for a moment before he rejected the offer because it was “a lot of money.”
Earlier in the podcast entry, the record executive also recounted other interactions he has had with fans that he considers “bizarre,” including a number in which he said, “People would come up to me and ask me to be rude to them.” The London native also noted that the trend would particularly happen with his fanbase in America.
Cowell was a successful record executive before he became a household name in the early 2000s after he became a judge on Pop Idol and later American Idol. He is best known for his blunt and controversial commentary and feedback as a judge on the singing competition television shows. Cowell has also participated in shows including The X Factor UK, Britain’s Got Talent, and The X Factor US throughout the years and has been a part of the judging panel of America’s Got Talent since he joined in 2016.