Sharon Osbourne Claims Simon Cowell Fired Her From ‘The X Factor’ for Being ‘Too Old’

She’s spilling the tea! Sharon Osbourne has been in the music industry business for decades and reality TV for nearly twenty years, and she’s been a judge on The X Factor in the UK on and off for the last 15 years. In a new episode of The Talk, though, she recently revealed she was set to return — and then got unceremoniously fired from the job. While chatting with her costars, the host revealed she had even turned down another judging gig so that she could return to X Factor, but Simon Cowell blew the whole thing up before she had a chance to do either.

“I’ve turned down to do the judge on The Masked Singer,” Sharon, 66, told her fellow Talk hosts during the Thursday, March 28 episode. “I was signed on to do another show at the time. I was signed to go to England [for The X Factor], and then Simon Cowell changed his mind and thought I was too old.” According to her, Simon said, “She’s old. We need somebody young.” Though Sharon had been one of the original judges on the show way back in its first season, Simon is the show’s creator — and he’s got the sway.

The star of The Osbournes wasn’t about to take any of that sitting down. Never known to back away from a fight, the mother-of-two told 59-year-old Simon, “If you want young, fire yourself and get rid of those man tits. … Call me tomorrow, we’ll discuss it.” However, it’s clear that things didn’t work out considering the fact that Sharon never came back to the show. Back in September 2018, she revealed on her Facebook that she wouldn’t be returning. “Simon was so gracious to find me a spot on the live shows but at this point, I really don’t think I’m needed and I would honestly feel odd coming in at this point. So I have decided to pass on the series this year,” she wrote at the time.

Of course, Sharon is no stranger to costar drama. In 2011, Leah Remini alleged that Sharon actually got her fired from a show. Though Sharon disputed the reports and Leah deleted her original tweet, there are plenty of other posts on Twitter that show Leah responding to fans and making more allegations. “Sharon went on Howard Stern and said she got us fired [because] we didn’t know who we were,” she claimed in one. In another, she wrote, “I remember Sharon saying she didn’t know who I was and said I wasn’t funny. How nice!”