Louis Walsh has revealed that Simon Cowell pulled a “nasty stroke” on him before the X Factor final in 2008.
Speaking on Doireann Garrihy’s The Laughs of Your Life podcast, Louis admitted that he is still a little bitter about the move.
In 2008, Louis was mentor of the groups which saw boyband JLS rise to stardom.
READ MORE: Why did Liz Truss resign and who will replace her as UK prime minister? Latest news
He said: “I also liked JSL, but Simon pulled a really nasty stroke on me. Did you know that?”
Doireann replied: “What was it?”
Louis continued: “I wanted them to win the show.
“They were in the final, they got there, and they were up against Alexandra Burke.
“Cheryl is mentoring Alexandra Burke, and we were really rivals. I gotta be honest with you. We wanted to win. And we were trying to pull every stroke.”
Louis went on to say that Simon Cowell had a favour for Cheryl and was backing her to win the show alongside her finalist Alexandra Burke.
He said: “So Simon wants Cheryl to win. What does he do?”
“Wait, hang on, why did he want her to win?” asked Doireann.
Louis said: ‘He liked her a lot. And she was playing up to him. And what does he do?
“He gets Beyonce. He gets Beyonce. You know, we couldn’t compete with Beyonce.”
Doireann added that she finds the epic duet emotional to this day.
She said: "Louis, I still well up when I watch that clip of them singing together. Like you have to admit, it was the most phenomenal performance.”
Louis bluntly replied: “I wanted JLS to win.”
“Ok, but wasn’t it a phenomenal performance, Louis?” asked Doireann.
Louis jokingly replied: “It was ok.
“It was ok. I wanted to win. This was serious. We took it so serious. Honestly.
“They were amazing, but JLS had the best career.”
Doireann added: “They were brilliant, yes.”
Louis remained adamant, saying: “JLS has the best career.
“They were amazing, and they worked as a unit, you see. That was the key.
“Where’s Alexandra? What happened? Oh, she’s in the West End.”
Doireann laughed as she called Louis out for her ‘shady’ comments.
She said: “Louis the shade. The backhanded shade.”
The Laughs Of Your Life podcast will be out this Monday, October 24.
READ NEXT:
- Stop condensation on windows with 'wonder' hack involving common kitchen item
- Met Eireann forecast date for 'cold blast' to hit Ireland as temperatures drop below freezing
- All Ireland bank holiday dates in 2022 and 2023 with one imminent and Christmas Day ‘move’
- Inside Colin Farrell's private life as new film Banshees of Inisherin hits cinemas - marriage rumours, children's health battle and net worth
- Love Island's Gemma and Luca spark split rumours as Paige drops hint over couples
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
