Minogue: \'Cowell is snubbing me\'
 

ANGRY Dannii Minogue has revealed X Factor boss Simon Cowell is giving her the Cole shoulder.

Dannii broke her silence on the latest frictions on the ITV talent show to accuse Cowell of snubbing her so he can fawn over Cheryl Cole.

Then she branded him a bigger DIVA than Mariah Carey.

Speaking exclusively to the News of the World, Dannii—who at 36 is 11 years older than Cheryl— admitted her once close bond with Cowell faded when the Girls Aloud beauty joined the judging team.

“This year has been very emotional and I admit I’ve struggled to deal with it all, especially with Simon, who is the biggest diva on the show,” she said. “Mariah Carey doesn’t even compare to him!

“I guess Simon and I don’t talk much any more, definitely nothing like last year when I was next to him on the panel and was also the new girl.

“He moved me away from him and now sits next to Cheryl and is in her ear all the time. It is a snub but I’m fine. It’s nothing compared to what I had to go through last year.”

Back then it was Sharon Osbourne who was putting Dannii through hell, verbally attacking her backstage and then slagging her off during a spot on Graham Norton’s chat show. Sharon also accused Cowell of hiring Dannii simply because he fancied her, rather than for her music abilities.

Louis Walsh later joined in with constant on-air taunts about Dannii's own singing voice.

This year Dannii has faced more cruel criticism about looking old compared to Cheryl.

“Lots of people do taunt me, but I put it to one side and carry on with my job, which I take very seriously,” she said. “I back my contestants 150 per cent and so much that has been written about me is unfair.

Whispers

“I actually talk to Cheryl now more than I talk to Simon. It’s a very different atmosphere behind the scenes but I’m strong enough to keep on going and try and ignore all the negativity.”

X Factor is being watched by almost two million more viewers a week since Cheryl’s entrance, with ratings trumping BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Dannii was reported to have felt the audition rounds of the show were biased towards Cheryl because she was receiving more airtime.

SNUBBED: Dannii says Simon's a bigger Diva than Mariah Carey
SNUBBED: Dannii says Simon's a bigger Diva than Mariah Carey

To make matters worse, she had to miss some of the auditions because she was filming in Australia, leaving the way clear for Simon and Cheryl to form a closer bond. And this seems to have led Louis, who used to torment Dannii, to turn to her for support.

“Louis has started to cling on to me now Sharon has gone, which has been a bit odd. I don’t know what that’s about.”

Despite the frosty atmosphere, Dannii wants to continue on the show.

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And she insists that — in one of the few conversations they’ve had this year — Simon assured her the job was safe.

She said: “I’m fed up about the rumours and whispers.

“I have already spoken to Simon about next year and he’s made it absolutely clear I’ll be back. I want to come back, so I will be there.”

In a swipe that will enrage her old sparring partner, Dannii said the quality of the judging panel had improved since Sharon’s exit.

She said: “I think this is the best judging team the show’s had, by a long way. We are all very competitive with each other but that’s a good thing. It means the competition is tough and we take our jobs seriously.”

Ability

Dannii conceded she isn’t sure if any of her acts have the ability to win the competition.

“It’s going to be a very tough year. The young girls are very, very talented, especially Laura. I’m already so proud with what I’ve done. This week I still had all three of my acts. Simon only had one and Louis only had one.

“No other judge of the older category has ever kept all their acts in for this long, so I’m proud with how I’ve gone. It’s already a victory in my book.”

After denying all week that she’d been sacked by her feisty protégé Rachel Hylton, Dannii did concede that the relationship between the pair had been troubled and revealed that she had found herself the target of Rachel’s unpredictable behaviour last weekend.

Dannii explained: “Rachel lost it a bit after the show on Saturday. Being in the bottom hit her really, really hard and she wasn’t coping with it at all well.

“She’s someone who doesn’t always react well to criticism, so I have tried to adjust to that and want to be there to support her as much as I can.

“We keep having our ups and downs, and there are some things she’s going to have more of an opinion on. But I have been her mentor this week, there’s absolutely no question about that.”

Dannii added: “Besides it took me five weeks before I clicked with Leon Jackson last year. And look at him, he went on to win the show.

“I haven’t completely ruled out great things happening with Rachel, We’ve just taken quite a while to come to an understanding with each other.

“Rachel has had a say in what she does on the show and I will guide her as much as I can to make what she does work.

“But I think it’s s*** her chances are being impacted by a lot of stories that are just a big distraction. It’s so unfair.

“She has come a long way already and I think there is a lot more that she can do.”


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