Simon Cowell - 'Britney's Suprisingly Mean' : Simon Cowell On X Factor Judge

Simon Cowell has described pop star Britney Spears as "surprisingly quite mean." The TV talent show mogul was speaking about Britney's harsh judging style on the US version of X Factor. She's taken many co-workers by surprise with her ruthless manner and during a recent conference call, Cowell told reporters "she's very unpredictable," New York Post reports. "She's taken this very seriously and she's surprisingly quite mean."

Anyone expecting the cute-wide eyed and innocent Britney of yesteryear will clearly be disappointed. What we seem to have instead is a more 'Toxic' version of the seemingly bubbly and friendly pop singer. According to Simon, Britney's quick to show contestants the door and she's not been shy of hiding her disdain if any hapless contestants step onto the stage to destroy any of her hit singles with a bad vocal performance: "In the past, we've had judges that never say no. She can't say no quick enough on this show. She's quite difficult to please," Cowell explains.

And as for Britney's co-judge Demi Lovato; well, she's not much easier to control, by the sounds of it. "We have no control over these two whatsoever, and there are many, many times that we disagree," says Simon. "But that's what's made it more interesting this year. They are both unpredictable and have different and strong views." Rumor has it that the show's producers are throwing another big personality into the mix, as Khloe Kardashian has been ear-marked for the role of the show's host. That could be quite a heady mix, in our opinion!