Mel B won’t "mother" her ‘X Factor’ contestants.
The former Spice Girl – who is mentoring the boys category on this year’s series of the ITV singing competition – believes in tough love when it comes to getting the best out of her contestants and says she isn’t there to baby sit them.
She told The Sun newspaper: "Boys can do whatever they want, they are boys. As long as they are respectful about it and whoever they are with, who am I to say anything?
"I’m not their mother. They are responsible for themselves.
"You show up to work and you prepare yourself. What you do in your personal life is up to you, as long as it doesn’t affect your work."
Although the 39-year-old singer is a self-professed "hard-**s" she insists she is open to providing emotional support for the boys if they come to her.
She explained: "I can be a hard-**s, a bad-**s, and I can be very emotional and very connected.
"I’m not working with girls — I expect them to be emotional and open up, but boys are boys.
"You can’t force a boy to tell you how he’s feeling. If they want to tell me, they can tell me ."
The brunette beauty – who sits beside Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Louis Walsh on the panel – revealed all the judges are "hungry’ for success on this year’s competition but is unsure who will take the crown, stating, "Anyone could win."
She explained: "All of our judging styles are pretty different and that’s why this panel works. We respect each other and agree to disagree. We can have a little bit of a fight and laugh about it two seconds later but still have our point to prove.
"Everyone is hungry for that competition. That competitiveness is inside all four of us.
"They’re all dark horses and we’ve all got really strong categories. Anyone could win."
Mel B won’t ‘mother’ her X Factor contestants
