In her Us Weekly cover story, Kelly Osbourne explains where she stands with Simon Cowell after his rocky history with her mother, Sharon Osbourne.
“I’d never want to disrespect Simon. I like Simon,” Kelly, 40, exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “You know, Simon is set in his ways and he has a way of doing things that works for him. Who am I to ever get in the middle of any of that? And, you know, he had a working relationship with my mom.”
Cowell, 65, previously worked with Sharon, 72, for several seasons on both The X Factor UK and America’s Got Talent.
“They had their issues,” Kelly says. “I stay out of it unless it’s something that I felt was wrong. “Like there’s no lying or secrets. Like he did my mom dirty a couple times. So, she got him back.”
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Sharon previously claimed in 2019 that she turned down a role as a judge on Fox’s The Masked Singer because of her contractual obligations to return to The X Factor. She ultimately did not appear on the U.K. singing competition again after claiming that Cowell fired her from the judging panel.
“I was signed to do another show at the time. I was signed that I had to go to England, and then Simon Cowell changed his mind and thought I was too old,” Sharon alleged on a 2019 episode of The Talk. “Simon Cowell goes, ‘She’s old. We need somebody young.’ So if you want young, fire yourself — and get rid of those man tits. Call me tomorrow, we’ll discuss it.”
Six months earlier, Sharon said in a statement that she voluntarily decided to leave The X Factor. Cowell, for his part, recently denied a feud on his part after Sharon and Louis Walsh further detailed their respective The X Factor exits while they were in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
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“I still consider Sharon and Louis really good friends, we could pick up the phone to each other tomorrow,” Cowell told the U.K.’s Mirror in April. “I think that’s probably one of the things they’re upset about because they can never get hold of me.”
He added, “From what I heard, what they said about me was actually quite funny. And I probably will phone them both in the next week or so, because I haven’t spoken to them for a while and it sounds like I should do. What would I like to say to them? ‘How are you?’ Whenever I meet them, see them, speak to them, it’s like we’ve spoken yesterday. My honest opinion is I think we miss each other.”
While Cowell and Sharon might have opposing perspectives on their feud, Kelly is focused on her family relationship first.
“My No. 1 role model is my mom,” Kelly gushes to Us. “Having a baby made me so much more close with my mom and my dad because everything just clicked. I got it. I realized, ‘Oh, my God, I really put them through hell and it must’ve been so hard for them to see me the way that I was and try to help me, but not wanna receive the help.’”
Kelly, who shares 23-month-old son Sidney with boyfriend Sid Wilson, previously struggled with addiction and underwent treatment at multiple rehab facilities in the past.
For more from Kelly’s cover story, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
With reporting by Lanae Brody
