Fans Call Simon Cowell ‘Greedy’ and ‘Vile’ for New Comments About Biggest Regret

Looking back on his career in a recent interview, Simon Cowell named the one decision that was his biggest regret and fans are not happy.

The America's Got Talent judge sat down for a conversation on The Diary of a CEO podcast to talk about the highs and lows of his career, including the formation of the boy band One Direction, which was active between 2010 and 2016.

After mentioning their many hit singles and his thoughts on whether the members, consisting of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson, would ever reunite—with Cowell saying, "I doubt it"—he revealed the one thing he regrets about the whole situation.

"I should have kept the name... I should have owned the name," he said, clarifying that the name "One Direction" is currently owned by the members of the boy group and adding, "That's the problem."

He lamented that not owning the name stopped him from further opportunities connected to the group's success, saying, "I could have made an animation or whatever." Well, fans quickly snapped back at the 64-year-old, calling him out for wanting to take advantage of the group to make more money.

Sharing the clip, one fan wrote, "umm is this new???! have yall seen this???? cw: simon cowell. i absolutely despise this man."

"Why are people who are already rich sooo greedy," questioned one fan in the comments, while another called out Cowell for alleged mistreatment of the boy group and said, "The way One Direction suffered a lot behind the scenes thanks to him and his management yet his only regret is giving them the rights of the name??? Absolutely vile."

A third succinctly said, "that being his only regret speaks volume," while many more accused Cowell of exploiting the group when they were active and only wanting more profit.

On the other hand, a few people understood Cowell's side of the story, such as a fan who commented, "business is a business my guy i wouldve done the same i respect him."

Another noted that Cowell isn't an outlier in the music industry, saying, "This isn't new... this is quite literally how labels/music executives work. It’s simply all about money! Not talent, wellbeing or development."

While none of the One Direction members have responded to Cowell's comments as of writing, another boy band member had some strong words for him.

A fan brought the podcast comments to the attention of Ashton Irwin of the Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer, and he replied, "The worst."

Cowell's new interview included a lot of enlightening moments, with the music producer admitting that he used to be a workaholic and crediting his son Eric as a catalyst for a happier life.

Next: Simon Cowell's 10-Year-Old Son Looks Just Like His Dad in New Photo