Grumpy Simon spans US TV like a colossus – so of course he’s being sued
Simon Cowell has been named as the highest earning celebrity on American TV with a $75m payday for his work on the X Factor.
The media mogul – who will launch the US version of his reality TV show next month – is said to have boosted his earnings by $25m by switching to the new show from American Idol.
His bumper salary includes his fee as co owner of the X – Factor format and as a producer and judge on the show.
The eight figure salary far outstrips the earnings of his fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul.
Scherzinger, who replaced Cheryl Cole after she was sacked from the show, will take home $1.5 million while Abdul will receive $2.5 million, according to TV Guide magazine.
Ashton Kutcher has been revealed as the highest paid sitcom actor despite only filming his first episode of Two and a Half Men’ last week.
The 33-year-old actor – who replaced Charlie Sheen in the show after he was fired from his role – earns $700,000 an episode.
British actor Hugh Laurie is the best paid actor in a TV drama, making $700,000 per episode for his role as grumpy doctor Gregory House in House.
Meanwhile, it emerged today that Cowell, The X Factor and Fox Broadcasting Company is being sued by two former X Factor contestants, according to the Miami Herald.
Florida singing duo Hyman Marks, 86 and his 54-year-old son Stephen, along with wife Helen, 78, are claiming they were subject to ‘harsh conditions’, which prevented them from performing at their best during their auditions back in June.
They allege that when they auditioned at the BankUnited Centre, they were made to ‘film promotional scenes’ in boiling hot conditions outdoors.
Their lawsuit alleges they were repeatedly made to walk from a car into the concert hall, which tired them out and they were then rejected by the judges.
‘As a result of this gruelling and discriminatory physical and mental exertion, the judges and the audience never got to see the real Hy Marks and Stephen Marks that day,’ the lawsuit reads.
The duo are suing for negligence, fraudulence of representation, and mental anguish and are requesting the chance to audition again, or be given the sum of $3 million.
Cowell ended up turning down the duo because, according to the suit, he felt Hyman wasn’t physically up to the rigours of the process.
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