{"id":354306,"date":"2023-10-09T11:26:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T10:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/?p=354306"},"modified":"2023-10-09T13:54:44","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T12:54:44","slug":"simon-cowell-unfollows-david-walliams-amid-britains-got-talent-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/uk-showbiz\/simon-cowell-unfollows-david-walliams-amid-britains-got-talent-lawsuit-354306","title":{"rendered":"Simon Cowell unfollows David Walliams amid Britain’s Got Talent lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Cowell has unfollowed David Walliams on Instagram, amid the ex-judge’s lawsuit against Britain’s Got Talent.<\/p>\n

The comedian, who joined the show as a judge in 2012, quit last year after\u00a0facing major backlash over \u201cdisrespectful comments\u201d he made<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old is now seeking damages from the company that produces the show on ITV\u2019s behalf, with legal paperwork suggesting that he is accusing bosses there of leaking details of his comments to a newspaper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

According to The Sun on Sunday, the author is suing for up to \u00a310million in lost earnings and damages.<\/p>\n

David\u2019s data protection case alleges his microphone was kept on and recorded throughout filming \u2013 including during breaks.<\/p>\n

It claims thousands of hours of recordings were collected and transcribed, including of sensitive and private conversations.<\/p>\n

They allegedly included \u201cprivate information\u2026 recorded without his consent or knowledge\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
David on Britain’s Got Talent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amid the bombshell lawsuit, it has emerged that Simon is no longer following David on Instagram.<\/p>\n

A source close to the music mogul has also branded David’s claims “absurd, embarrassing and utterly bizarre\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The insider said: “Many of the allegations in this writ are just plain wrong. <\/span>For example, the idea anyone surreptitiously recorded David is absurd.<\/p>\n

“It was announced in 2018 judges\u2019 comments between themselves at the judging desk would be recorded for possible use. Since then, they have been used regularly in audition episodes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by ITV\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The comedian was reportedly recorded making derogatory remarks and sexually explicit comments about contestants auditioning for the show at the London Palladium in January 2020.<\/p>\n

According to a leaked transcript seen by The Guardian, it is suggested the 51-year-old referred to an older performer as a \u201cc***\u201d three times when he was out of earshot, following an unsuccessful audition.<\/p>\n

During his audition, the contestant had reportedly engaged in light-hearted banter with the judges and made a jibe about David.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The transcript also suggested further sexually explicit comments were made by the comedian after a female contestant had walked off the stage.<\/p>\n

Back in November, David apologised for his \u201cdisrespectful comments\u201d in a statement which read: \u201cI would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain\u2019s Got Talent in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were private conversations and \u2013 like most conversations with friends \u2013 were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

David reportedly made \u00a31.5million-a-year for his role as a judge on the popular show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former judge has filed a lawsuit against the ITV show <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24689,"featured_media":354317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[4154],"tags":[1641,2112,265],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Simon-Cowell-and-David-Walliams.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354306"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354334,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354306\/revisions\/354334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goss.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}