Simon Cowell has recalled one of his most bizarre fan interactions involving a couple who offered him a huge sum of money to judge them having sex.
Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, the former American Idol judge, 65, remembered the moment, admitting that he briefly considered the outrageous proposition.
“One time — this is a true story — I was in a restaurant and this guy comes up to me and he said, ‘I love your show,’” Cowell said. “Thank you very much. ‘Will you take a picture?’ Sure. ‘This is my wife.’ Nice to meet you.”
The British star then remembered the couple asking him: “Would you judge us having sex?
“I went, are you winding me up?” he continued. “And they said, ‘No, we’ll pay you.’ Well, how much? And it was actually a lot of money. And I thought, do I? No, I just can’t do it.”
Pressed for a figure, he claimed that they had offered him $150,000.
Cowell additionally revealed that early in his career, many fans, particularly in America, would approach him requesting that he “be rude” to them.
Host Day laughed, asking if having Cowell being rude was some people’s “sexual kink.”
“Well, it was just so bizarre,” the Britain’s Got Talent alum said.
“That’s something I really enjoyed, though, weirdly,” he added, sharing that he’s actually a “very shy” person.
“Like, I can’t go to a pre-party. It’s the worst thing in the world making small talk with people I don’t know. If we have a common subject, I’m pretty good,” he noted. “But years ago, if I had to go to a party, particularly where you have to stand up with a drink with horrible food, and just talk to people you don’t know, it’s torture.”
He shared, however, that once he became more known, “it was kind of good because it broke the ice with people you meet.”
“So instantly they know you; you’re talking about something I like, which is the shows or the artists or whatever,” Cowell explained. “So it kind of helped me with my shyness.”
Elsewhere during the episode, he claimed he isn’t as wealthy as people might expect and said he is often concerned about his finances.
“I always worry about money because I think you have to in a way,” he said. “You think about Covid as an example.”
The businessman said that he advised his teams to get “all of our shows into production around the world quicker this year” following rumors of the virus’ spread.
“When you think about that, the wars, and everything else, the instability, what is safe?” he said. “Is it gold, cash, stocks. I don't think anything's safe any longer. I guess your house. Someone did actually say to me once ‘live in your money’. And it was really good advice, i.e, enjoy it, and be happy with it, but understand that the world is precarious.”
Cowell, who was once estimated to be worth more than $600 million, denied that his net worth is that high.
“Oh God, it’s not that. I’m not even close to that. I’m being serious. I’m not,” he said. “I’ve made a lot, I’m not going to lie. I’ve made a bit of money, yes, but not that much, no.”
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