Ok, stupid question, what does "Porcupine face" mean?
It's not a common phrase, i think the interviewer just meant that he winced at the question of being in love. He probably reacted like a 14 year old boy would when asked the same question.
He seems as happy as he could be, his work ethic always makes him look for the next big thing, something better, more exciting. Perhaps that has over lapped into his personal life over the years. He is quite unusual, but in an interesting, amusing way. Not everyone is capable of the domestic 9-5 routine. As long as he is honest about that to the person he is with, then that is just good self awareness.
He seems like someone that would immediately become miserable if he was ever described as "content". He has a short attention span and his work is fast changing and keeps him engaged. I don't think a typical routine is going to do that for him.
As for the 2000 lovers, he said during 'good times' he would be with 2 girls a week. The interviewer calculated that it would mean 2000 overall, which is ridiculous and i don't even think Simon would claim that.
That would imply that "the good times" lasted 20 years!
I haven't read it though - more chance finding a white tiger in Glasgow than a Sunday Times.
I think the whole article was actually quite cleverly done - the over photoshopped, heavily manipulated and "enhanced" cover photo was obviously a visual metaphor to just how fake and unreal his public persona has become in recent years. The author had obviously been sniffing about and had been allowed this interview by Simon's Kray Twinesque paternal protectors of Mr Green and Mr Clifford....she obviously found the whole set up of Simon's life completely bizzare - and the tongue in cheek prose made him come across an utterly ridiculous cartoon of a man. There was far too much nonsense about his "straightness" - yet undermined quite delicately by the reporters failure to dig up even one of these supposed "2000" lovers - and the only one she did find, denied there WAS ever any affair (kind of a Reverse Sinitta ) .
I dont quite know what to make of it - Im not sure Simon's PR will be particularly happy with what she did here - personally, I think its a VERY astute piece of writing but I dont think he comes out of it very well at all. If I knew little or nothing about him and read that article, my gaydar would definitely be clanging - and Im not sure thats QUITE the outcome Team Keep Simon Straight were hoping for.
Oh and one either minor observation, I do think our pet name for The One - "Kerching" is 100% spot on after reading this .
I knew there was a reason why I don't like her. Terri was a better choice, but she made the right choice by moving on. At least she kept her job and didn't flaunt his wealth no matter what he gave her, girl had some class. The One is a gold digger, well like the saying goes ain't no fool like an old fool.
I have to say I love how all of the other media outlets who have now picked up the story from the TImes article are mainly focusing on SImon, the ladies man and his sexual prowess. They chose to run with the headlines, "Simon Bedded 2000 Women" and "SImon Loves to Flirt" and just pull those particular parts out of the article. Ignoring the fact that Simon doesn't seem to be as head over heels with "the One" as he wants everyone to believe.
I wonder if Max has more control over what they print than what was printed in The Times.
I knew there was a reason why I don't like her. Terri was a better choice, but she made the right choice by moving on. At least she kept her job and didn't flaunt his wealth no matter what he gave her, girl had some class. The One is a gold digger, well like the saying goes ain't no fool like an old fool.
Terri and Simon always seemed like they actually liked each other, something him and The One have never managed.
Think this was a bit of bad casting, obviously they knew each other from AI, they probably got on behind scenes and she seemed ideal, however sitting in a make up chair chatting for a few minutes is a bit different from having to spend a lot of time in each other's company. Still think she'll get her P45 (and house, car, designer wardrobe etc etc) around the time US XF starts.
Camilla Long (reporter who did the Sunday Times article) did a web chat just now and answered some questions....
I get the impression from the article that you found Cowell to be somewhat of a parody - the plastic looking image used as a cover for the magazine seemed to visualise exactly what you thought of him - rather fake and cartoonish. Is that a fair comment or did you find there was more substance to the man? Its hard to see beyond the image of him marching round topless, wearing rather too much make up,trailing small dogs, keeping a gay butler on hand for drinkies and a small harem of trophy ladies to amuse him.
Reply:
I was astonished when I turned up in Marbella and Cowell really was just that. Honestly. Or - honest to God, should I say? It was like being Dorothy, turning up to see the Wizard of Oz, whipping aside the curtain, and there he was. I think what has happened is that after 10 years in the full glare of publicity, he has necessarily accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour as a kind of coping mechanism. He is obviously a very hardworking man, and has done brilliantly well, but he really is a great example of someone who was quite boy-next-door and by a slow process became The Most Famous Man In The World. In his attitude to the press, he really reminded me of Jordan. Constantly obsessed with headlines and pictures and not really focussed on anything else. Fascinating.
Another one...
I loved the interview, I felt you just got the real him, I have never seen an interviewer do that before. Something tells me Simon and his team wouldn’t have been too happy about the article, did you get any feedback?
Reply:
Cowell was not happy, no - I got an irate call to say I'd been "impolite". But really I'd just written what I saw and thought and maybe that's why you felt it was "the real him". Cowell has a lot of personae - the tyrant, the tycoon, the tv phenomenon - but I kind of felt there must be a real person underneath it all, and I hope I got that.
I am not surprised he was not happy about the article. He is used to people writing glowing articles about him. I actually am surprised that Max let this one be printed. I guess she didn't have to run it by him first. He must not have any control over The TImes which makes me wonder why they granted the interview at all. Is Max slipping?
Thanks for updating us Allie, or 'enquiring' for us, should is say?!
I'm not too keen on Camilla, having re-read the interview she was very snide at times.
I agree with her view here, "I think what has happened is that after 10 years in the full glare of publicity, he has necessarily accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour as a kind of coping mechanism." but if that's the case, then surely this means she did not get to see the real Simon, as she claims to have?
I don't think many people know the real Simon, including his more casual friends and colleagues, so i certainly think there is more to him than Camilla portrayed. He doesn't have many 'showbiz' friends, i consider people like Ryan and Randy to be very normal for Hollywood standards. If Simon wasn't a decent guy and relatively normal, i don't think they would be such good friends with him. Remove the 'holidaying with ex girfriends' business, then Simon is a standard workaholic with little else unusual about him.
but if that's the case, then surely this means she did not get to see the real Simon, as she claims to have?
I disagree, I think she did get him! You have to read between the lines to see it. This is probably the most honest and not doctored interview I have ever seen written about him.
I disagree, I think she did get him! You have to read between the lines to see it. This is probably the most honest and not doctored interview I have ever seen written about him.
It is extremely cleverly written.
I do think it's cleverly written and she was dropping quite major hints that she questions his sexuality in my opinion and doesn't believe the 'womanising', i just didn't like her tone.
I think it's a contradiction to say he "accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour" and then to claim to have seen the real Simon. Although i guess her point may have been that he does this subconsciously.
My opinion is that he's hiding his sexuality. Without going into details, that's for the other thread, i think it's because of this that he is seen as weird or unusual, because he can't give truthful answers when it comes to relationships. The answers he does give are not convincing or he tries too hard to look like a womaniser.
I do think it's cleverly written and she was dropping quite major hints that she questions his sexuality in my opinion and doesn't believe the 'womanising', i just didn't like her tone.
I read somewhere that it was nearer 100 women even then he was'nt sure, I think he likes his ladies as friends rather than lovers.. Does it really matter whether he is or isnt as long as he's happy... Work will always be his 1st love, this women is not being rude just stating the facts as she sees them...
I'm sure Simon had a good laugh at this, because no way would it of been printed without his approval.
I'm glad Camilla noted this, "he really is a great example of someone who was quite boy-next-door and by a slow process became The Most Famous Man In The World."
People with a fraction of his fame cannot handle the exposure. Simon appears to have coped well and i think any oddity which he has in his personality was probably already there.
I do find it strange how he conducts himself in these interviews, but I did feel the journalist got the real him. Shallow, a workaholic, egotistical and completely self driven. I'm not saying any of that is a bad thing, it is how he likes to live his life and good luck to him. The journalist doesn't seem to have done him or her any favours in the article.
To me Simon just seems incapable of having a normal fulfilling relationship for whatever reason. Probably more to do with his work ethics then anything else. Mezhgan appears to be there as an accessory, he knows it, she knows it. He likes female company and doesn't actually like to live his life alone. Reaching fifty, he has had a bit of a mid life crisis and can see an empty lonely life ahead of him.
Will it work? I suppose it will depend on what Mezhgan wants out of it long term. If she is happy being an accessory, living a luxurious lifestyle, doesn't put any pressure on him and doesn't want commitment and babies, then yes it could work for both of them.
Unfortunately, I don't think he is the type of person that will ever find happiness within himself, he will live the rest of his life striving for something else.
This is an interesting post and I agree with a lot of it. I think Mezhgan knows the score.
I suppose the question is, how did Camilla manage to publish her interview? I can't believe that Max doesn't insist on seeing a copy before it goes to print. Simon didn't really say anything different to his usual comments, it was the way Camilla wrote and researched the article, piecing together the comments which did the 'damage'. Out of 5 pages, there are not actually that many quotes from Simon.
I suppose the question is, how did Camilla manage to publish her interview? I can't believe that Max doesn't insist on seeing a copy before it goes to print. Simon didn't really say anything different to his usual comments, it was the way Camilla wrote and researched the article, piecing together the comments which did the 'damage'. Out of 5 pages, there are not actually that many quotes from Simon.
I very much doubt Max expected a piece like that from the Sunday Times. It was probably perceived to be good publicity to have a broadsheet do an article on him during X Factor and he probably expected it to be more related to the program. There is no way Max or his company PR saw this before it went to print.
I suspect they treat the broadsheets more leniently when it comes to editioral censorship.
I very much doubt Max expected a piece like that from the Sunday Times. It was probably perceived to be good publicity to have a broadsheet do an article on him during X Factor and he probably expected it to be more related to the program. There is no way Max or his company PR saw this before it went to print.
I suspect they treat the broadsheets more leniently when it comes to editioral censorship.
Completey agree, no way Max had a preview. A lesson for him there when dealing with the broadsheets. Although i didn't like Camilla's tone at times, i am grateful for any further insight into Simon, even if his PR people see it as negative publicity. In reality it is only showing his faults and inabilities as with any of us, which perhaps is inevitable when you put so much time into your work and neglect your own emotions.
This whole Sunday Times thing has been quite enlightening - I never thought we would see such a piece in the mainstream press. I think we actually got a very rare glimpse into the REAL Simon Cowell - and the irony is, the REAL him IS now an almost cartoonish, extremely camp man who leads a superficial and somewhat shallow personal life. His only joy seems to come from his work, not from people - maybe thats because he has been let down badly in the past, or simply that his huge eruption into mega stardom has made it impossible to find someone he can be truly happy with. Interestingly, straight or gay doesnt seem to be the core issue here. It appears he cannot form meaningful relationships at all. And by that I mean long term "soul mate" kind of relationships, not sexual ones.
I see to counter the rather risque ST piece, The Sun's TV mag on Saturday has him leering nicely at Nicole. Way to go Si .
This whole Sunday Times thing has been quite enlightening - I never thought we would see such a piece in the mainstream press. I think we actually got a very rare glimpse into the REAL Simon Cowell - and the irony is, the REAL him IS now an almost cartoonish, extremely camp man who leads a superficial and somewhat shallow personal life. His only joy seems to come from his work, not from people - maybe thats because he has been let down badly in the past, or simply that his huge eruption into mega stardom has made it impossible to find someone he can be truly happy with. Interestingly, straight or gay doesnt seem to be the core issue here. It appears he cannot form meaningful relationships at all. And by that I mean long term "soul mate" kind of relationships, not sexual ones.
I see to counter the rather risque ST piece, The Sun's TV mag on Saturday has him leering nicely at Nicole. Way to go Si .
It's true and i think that is what has been difficult for me to grasp. I always felt his strange interviews were because he was hiding his sexuality and couldn't answer questions honestly, but now i am completely thrown. He could be straight and just find relationships extremely difficult, therefore his coldness towards girfriends is not so much commitment phobic, more that he can't relate emotionally.
In Camilla's tweets she says Simon is almost assexual, as in he is very controlled. Again, i've never thought of him as assexual, because he always trys to be overtly sexual and Camilla herself said he was very flirty. The man is full of contradictions!
I think a big tipping point was when his dad died. Maybe he became obsessed with making him proud as he was also a workaholic. His family said even they were shocked by how emotionally wrecked he was afterwards. It's like he became robotic from that moment on. Simon's friends have even told him he should see a therapist.
I think Nicholas should really be looking out for him right now, he seems caught in a bubble that he probably doesn't even know if he's enjoying. Unfortunately i think Tony is too busy enjoying that bubble to realise what's happening.
It's true and i think that is what has been difficult for me to grasp. I always felt his strange interviews were because he was hiding his sexuality and couldn't answer questions honestly, but now i am completely thrown. He could be straight and just find relationships extremely difficult, therefore his coldness towards girfriends is not so much commitment phobic, more that he can't relate emotionally.
In Camilla's tweets she says Simon is almost assexual, as in he is very controlled. Again, i've never thought of him as assexual, because he always trys to be overtly sexual and Camilla herself said he was very flirty. The man is full of contradictions!
I think a big tipping point was when his dad died. Maybe he became obsessed with making him proud as he was also a workaholic. His family said even they were shocked by how emotionally wrecked he was afterwards. It's like he became robotic from that moment on. Simon's friends have even told him he should see a therapist.
I think Nicholas should really be looking out for him right now, he seems caught in a bubble that he probably doesn't even know if he's enjoying. Unfortunately i think Tony is too busy enjoying that bubble to realise what's happening.
Ive never bought into the asexual argument either. I can see why people think it - his over the top public flirting with people like Paula Abdul (and to a lesser extent, Cheryl Cole) dont gel with his supposed "real" relationship with Mezhgan, where he seems disinterested and half hearted, so one can easily believe he isnt really interested in women other than as platonic companions.
However, as you pointed out Mich, he is incredibly vain, extremely flirtatious and definitely tries to portray himself as a very (hetero) sexual man. People have said Simon is not a good actor (which I also believe) so why "play the part" of a womanising rogue for so many years if sex was not something that interested him (and lets be brutally honest here, finding a man not interested in sex is like finding a unicorn noshing on manna from heaven in your back garden ). The only reason I can make sense of why he plays this "part" is to camouflage who he really is. I could say more but its probably not for this thread. (not that its anything awful I might add, just not appropriate for the AT).
Comments
It's not a common phrase, i think the interviewer just meant that he winced at the question of being in love. He probably reacted like a 14 year old boy would when asked the same question.
He seems like someone that would immediately become miserable if he was ever described as "content". He has a short attention span and his work is fast changing and keeps him engaged. I don't think a typical routine is going to do that for him.
That would imply that "the good times" lasted 20 years!
I haven't read it though - more chance finding a white tiger in Glasgow than a Sunday Times.
I think the whole article was actually quite cleverly done - the over photoshopped, heavily manipulated and "enhanced" cover photo was obviously a visual metaphor to just how fake and unreal his public persona has become in recent years. The author had obviously been sniffing about and had been allowed this interview by Simon's Kray Twinesque paternal protectors of Mr Green and Mr Clifford....she obviously found the whole set up of Simon's life completely bizzare - and the tongue in cheek prose made him come across an utterly ridiculous cartoon of a man. There was far too much nonsense about his "straightness" - yet undermined quite delicately by the reporters failure to dig up even one of these supposed "2000" lovers - and the only one she did find, denied there WAS ever any affair (kind of a Reverse Sinitta
I dont quite know what to make of it - Im not sure Simon's PR will be particularly happy with what she did here - personally, I think its a VERY astute piece of writing but I dont think he comes out of it very well at all. If I knew little or nothing about him and read that article, my gaydar would definitely be clanging - and Im not sure thats QUITE the outcome Team Keep Simon Straight were hoping for.
Oh and one either minor observation, I do think our pet name for The One - "Kerching" is 100% spot on after reading this
I wonder if Max has more control over what they print than what was printed in The Times.
Terri and Simon always seemed like they actually liked each other, something him and The One have never managed.
Think this was a bit of bad casting, obviously they knew each other from AI, they probably got on behind scenes and she seemed ideal, however sitting in a make up chair chatting for a few minutes is a bit different from having to spend a lot of time in each other's company. Still think she'll get her P45 (and house, car, designer wardrobe etc etc) around the time US XF starts.
I get the impression from the article that you found Cowell to be somewhat of a parody - the plastic looking image used as a cover for the magazine seemed to visualise exactly what you thought of him - rather fake and cartoonish. Is that a fair comment or did you find there was more substance to the man? Its hard to see beyond the image of him marching round topless, wearing rather too much make up,trailing small dogs, keeping a gay butler on hand for drinkies and a small harem of trophy ladies to amuse him.
Reply:
I was astonished when I turned up in Marbella and Cowell really was just that. Honestly. Or - honest to God, should I say? It was like being Dorothy, turning up to see the Wizard of Oz, whipping aside the curtain, and there he was. I think what has happened is that after 10 years in the full glare of publicity, he has necessarily accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour as a kind of coping mechanism. He is obviously a very hardworking man, and has done brilliantly well, but he really is a great example of someone who was quite boy-next-door and by a slow process became The Most Famous Man In The World. In his attitude to the press, he really reminded me of Jordan. Constantly obsessed with headlines and pictures and not really focussed on anything else. Fascinating.
Another one...
I loved the interview, I felt you just got the real him, I have never seen an interviewer do that before. Something tells me Simon and his team wouldn’t have been too happy about the article, did you get any feedback?
Reply:
Cowell was not happy, no - I got an irate call to say I'd been "impolite". But really I'd just written what I saw and thought and maybe that's why you felt it was "the real him". Cowell has a lot of personae - the tyrant, the tycoon, the tv phenomenon - but I kind of felt there must be a real person underneath it all, and I hope I got that.
Interesting stuff (and great questions
I'm not too keen on Camilla, having re-read the interview she was very snide at times.
I agree with her view here, "I think what has happened is that after 10 years in the full glare of publicity, he has necessarily accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour as a kind of coping mechanism." but if that's the case, then surely this means she did not get to see the real Simon, as she claims to have?
I don't think many people know the real Simon, including his more casual friends and colleagues, so i certainly think there is more to him than Camilla portrayed. He doesn't have many 'showbiz' friends, i consider people like Ryan and Randy to be very normal for Hollywood standards. If Simon wasn't a decent guy and relatively normal, i don't think they would be such good friends with him. Remove the 'holidaying with ex girfriends' business, then Simon is a standard workaholic with little else unusual about him.
I disagree, I think she did get him! You have to read between the lines to see it. This is probably the most honest and not doctored interview I have ever seen written about him.
It is extremely cleverly written.
I do think it's cleverly written and she was dropping quite major hints that she questions his sexuality in my opinion and doesn't believe the 'womanising', i just didn't like her tone.
I think it's a contradiction to say he "accentuated the cartoonish aspects of his behaviour" and then to claim to have seen the real Simon. Although i guess her point may have been that he does this subconsciously.
My opinion is that he's hiding his sexuality. Without going into details, that's for the other thread, i think it's because of this that he is seen as weird or unusual, because he can't give truthful answers when it comes to relationships. The answers he does give are not convincing or he tries too hard to look like a womaniser.
I read somewhere that it was nearer 100 women even then he was'nt sure, I think he likes his ladies as friends rather than lovers.. Does it really matter whether he is or isnt as long as he's happy... Work will always be his 1st love, this women is not being rude just stating the facts as she sees them...
I'm sure Simon had a good laugh at this, because no way would it of been printed without his approval.
People with a fraction of his fame cannot handle the exposure. Simon appears to have coped well and i think any oddity which he has in his personality was probably already there.
This is an interesting post and I agree with a lot of it. I think Mezhgan knows the score.
I very much doubt Max expected a piece like that from the Sunday Times. It was probably perceived to be good publicity to have a broadsheet do an article on him during X Factor and he probably expected it to be more related to the program. There is no way Max or his company PR saw this before it went to print.
I suspect they treat the broadsheets more leniently when it comes to editioral censorship.
Completey agree, no way Max had a preview. A lesson for him there when dealing with the broadsheets. Although i didn't like Camilla's tone at times, i am grateful for any further insight into Simon, even if his PR people see it as negative publicity. In reality it is only showing his faults and inabilities as with any of us, which perhaps is inevitable when you put so much time into your work and neglect your own emotions.
According to this, Simon did not collect his award. Quite surprised, i thought he would have gone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11395906
@camillalong I'm just curious after reading your interview with Simon Cowell do you believe his engagement is real or just for the publicity
@Irishgirl565 I think it's both
Real FOR publicity? THAT I believe.
This whole Sunday Times thing has been quite enlightening - I never thought we would see such a piece in the mainstream press. I think we actually got a very rare glimpse into the REAL Simon Cowell - and the irony is, the REAL him IS now an almost cartoonish, extremely camp man who leads a superficial and somewhat shallow personal life. His only joy seems to come from his work, not from people - maybe thats because he has been let down badly in the past, or simply that his huge eruption into mega stardom has made it impossible to find someone he can be truly happy with. Interestingly, straight or gay doesnt seem to be the core issue here. It appears he cannot form meaningful relationships at all. And by that I mean long term "soul mate" kind of relationships, not sexual ones.
I see to counter the rather risque ST piece, The Sun's TV mag on Saturday has him leering nicely at Nicole. Way to go Si
It's true and i think that is what has been difficult for me to grasp. I always felt his strange interviews were because he was hiding his sexuality and couldn't answer questions honestly, but now i am completely thrown. He could be straight and just find relationships extremely difficult, therefore his coldness towards girfriends is not so much commitment phobic, more that he can't relate emotionally.
In Camilla's tweets she says Simon is almost assexual, as in he is very controlled. Again, i've never thought of him as assexual, because he always trys to be overtly sexual and Camilla herself said he was very flirty. The man is full of contradictions!
I think a big tipping point was when his dad died. Maybe he became obsessed with making him proud as he was also a workaholic. His family said even they were shocked by how emotionally wrecked he was afterwards. It's like he became robotic from that moment on. Simon's friends have even told him he should see a therapist.
I think Nicholas should really be looking out for him right now, he seems caught in a bubble that he probably doesn't even know if he's enjoying. Unfortunately i think Tony is too busy enjoying that bubble to realise what's happening.
Ive never bought into the asexual argument either. I can see why people think it - his over the top public flirting with people like Paula Abdul (and to a lesser extent, Cheryl Cole) dont gel with his supposed "real" relationship with Mezhgan, where he seems disinterested and half hearted, so one can easily believe he isnt really interested in women other than as platonic companions.
However, as you pointed out Mich, he is incredibly vain, extremely flirtatious and definitely tries to portray himself as a very (hetero) sexual man. People have said Simon is not a good actor (which I also believe) so why "play the part" of a womanising rogue for so many years if sex was not something that interested him (and lets be brutally honest here, finding a man not interested in sex is like finding a unicorn noshing on manna from heaven in your back garden