Simon Cowell has opened up about whether he regrets his famously blunt approach as a talent show judge.

The 66-year-old music mogul became a household name through his roles on The X Factor, American Idol, and Britain’s Got Talent, where he was known for his candid and sometimes harsh critiques.

In a revealing new interview, Cowell reflected on his career, explaining that his straightforward manner stemmed from a desire to avoid misleading people or giving them false hope.

When asked if he ever felt he had gone too far, he told Rolling Stone, “Look, all of us have probably thought at some point, ‘I shouldn’t have said that.'”

He continued, “But it’s more compassionate to be clear with someone who has no talent. If you can’t sing, it’s not going to magically make you the world’s biggest rock or pop star.”

“I’m not going to lie to these people or give them unfounded hope. If my son Eric wanted to be a singer and was off-key, I’d tell him, ‘Darling, you can’t sing.’ I would never deceive him.”

Simon Cowell has revealed whether he ever regrets his brutal talent show judge demeanour (seen on The X Factor)

The music mogul, 66, made a name for himself on shows like The X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent where he never held back with his honest and sometimes harsh opinions

Simon shares Eric, 11, with his partner Lauren Silverman.

In the interview he also spoke out on Liam Payne‘s death, revealing their final conversation.

Simon said the late One Direction star visited his home a year before he died in Buenos Aires after falling from a third floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel on October 16, 2024.

Simon, who discovered Liam aged 14 and put him in One Direction on the 2010 series of X Factor, said that the singer was ‘in a really good place’ when he saw him but he still questions if he could have done more to help.

Simon, who is promoting his new Netflix talent show Simon Cowell: The Next Act, admitted ‘you ask yourself that question: ‘Could I have done anything more? What would’ve happened to Liam if he hadn’t been in the band?’.’

But he insisted he doesn’t feel responsible for how Liam’s life played out.

Simon met Liam when he auditioned for X Factor for the very first time at the age of 14.

And upon learning of his death, Simon released a touching tribute to the ‘kind, funny and talented’, pop star, who ‘never forgot the fans’.

Now he has reflected on his career in a new candid interview where he said he acted the way he did as he would never want to ‘bulls**t’ people or give them false hope

He wrote: ‘Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.

‘This is so difficult to put in words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together.

‘I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me.

‘What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.

‘I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again.

‘A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t. You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam.

‘And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone he said: ‘I’m not going to bull***t these people and give them fake hope…’ (seen with his fellow BGT judges)

‘You came to see me last year. Not for a meeting. Just to sit and talk. And we reminisced about all of the fun times we had together.

‘And how proud you were to be a Dad. After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I met all of those years ago.’

He continued: ‘I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have.

Simon was later seen hugging Liam’s parents Geoff and Karen as he sought to comfort them following their son’s funeral.