'America's Got Talent' Judges Simon Cowell and Mel B Were Feuding Last Night
Thank goodness Heidi Klum was in between judges Mel B and Simon Cowell on America's Got last night. The tension was R.E.A.L. - and fans definitely noticed.
Despite differing opinions here and there, the judging panel - Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Mel B – seemed to generally agree with one another. But things got a bit personal between the music executive and former Spice Girl a few times during the first round of live shows.
The feud began when Amanda Mena, a 15-year-old singer and Mel B's golden buzzer pick, took the stage to perform. Before Amanda began her Spanish and English rendition of Pink's "What About Us," Mel B told host Tyra Banks that the young performer reminded her of herself. Simon then mumbled back "Yeah, but she can sing."
Um, okay, Simon.
At first, the English singer appeared to ignore Simon's snarky response (that, or she didn't hear him) and went on to clarify what she meant.
"Nobody accepted her [Amanda], and she fought, and she proceeded," Mel said. Simon then interjected again:"'Cause she has a good voice." Mel B then yelled "Simon, stop it!" before shooting him a look.
But that wasn't the end of it. When Amanda's performance concluded, the two butted heads again after Simon told her he believes Amanda should be "in a group going forward."
"Stop! Stop you right there. She's a solo artist and she will always be one," Mel B shot back, to which Simon just shrugged his shoulders. Tyra, seemingly defending Simon, kindly suggested to Mel B that she didn't think it was meant to be taken as a diss.
But despite Tyra trying to calm everyone down, Twitter was fired up about the exchanges.
Longtime fans of the show know that the two have had their fair share of on-air heated arguments before. When dancing cop Deuntay Diggs performed in season 12, Simon took a dig at Mel B. "You were successful without being able to dance," Simon alleged.
But perhaps their worst exchange happened last August. Simon, once again, went after Mel B while giving feedback to a magician.
“I kind of imagine this would be like Mel B’s wedding night,” Simon began. “A lot of anticipation, not much promise or delivery.” Mel B responded by throwing a cup of water on him and walked off. At the time, she was undergoing divorce proceedings with her estranged husband.
“He should know if you say something inappropriate he’s gonna, like, get stuff thrown at him. In a friendly way. I made sure there was no ice in it this time,” Mel B explained to Variety at the time. “I told him he was an a--hole and that was it, and he goes, ‘Oh, whatever.'”
Yikes! Here's hoping the two get along in real life, and that the on-camera feuding stays, well, on camera.
Watch America's Got Talent live shows Tuesdays and the result episodes Wednesdays on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
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