Simon Cowell "stormed off" to his dressing room following last night’s (19.10.14) ‘X Factor’ after Mel B accused one of his acts of cheating.
The music mogul is said to be "furious" with his fellow judge for claiming Fleur East, who is in Simon’s Over-25s category, was acting unfairly because her backing singers were too loud against her own voice during her rendition of Monie Love’s ‘It’s A Shame’ on Saturday night’s (18.10.14) show.
The former Spice Girl’s comments were said to still be a sore point after last night’s ‘Xtra Factor’, with the panellist pair both choosing to return to their own dressing rooms instead of having a de-brief about the weekend’s shows.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Simon was absolutely furious with Mel over what she said. He has really moulded Fleur and he thinks she’s got a real chance of winning the competition, going on to have a great career and ultimately making him a lot of money.
"There’s nothing worse than being branded a cheater and even at this stage of the show, it could be a difficult tag to shake off. Usually after Xtra Factor the judges will have a bit of a debrief and a chat, but Simon was so angry he stormed off to his dressing room.
"Mel didn’t want to see him either, so she stayed holed up until 1am and didn’t come out until pretty much everyone had gone home."
Following Fleur’s performance on Saturday, Mel told her: "That was a great performance, the only thing is on that chorus I didn’t hear your voice pop against the backing track so I found that a little bit like cheating."
But Simon immediately blasted the 39-year-old singer’s opinion, insisting her verdict was "unfair".
What’s more, fellow judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini is said to be fuming with Simon after he compared her look to ‘The Muppets’ character Kermit the Frog when she wore a green dress on Saturday night’s show.
An insider added: "Cheryl is absolutely livid with Simon for his Kermit gag. She considers herself to be a bit of an expert on fashion, so getting abuse from a man who wears one of about three outfits every day is a bit much."
There was a double blow for Cheryl on Sunday night’s show as two of her four acts, Stephanie Nala and Chloe-Jasmine Whichello, were given the boot from the programme leaving the former Girls Aloud singer with Lauren Platt and Lola Saunders.
Simon Cowell ‘furious with Mel B over cheating claims’
