Sharon Osbourne quit as a judge on 'X-Factor' late last week, and a Sunday paper reports that her decision to go was caused by her previously reported feuding with Dannii Minogue, who was brought in as a fourth judge on the most recent series of the talent show, of course.
After Osbourne let it be known she would not return to the ITV telly show there was speculation she had pulled out because of a pay dispute, but fellow judge Louis Walsh told the Sunday Mirror this weekend that it's all down to Dannii. Saying he was "devastated" that Sharon was leaving the show, Walsh told the tab: "It's not contracts or money, it's Dannii. They don't get on at all and she wasn't happy with the situation. Sharon has walked off, she's gone. Why didn't they give Dannii the boot instead?"
Walsh, who was axed himself at the start of the last series but later invited back after his replacement didn't work out, said of the next series of the show: "I haven't signed yet but I am negotiating. It's a difficult situation. Sharon is a great friend, I talk to her everyday. She is devastated and so am I. I have absolutely no relationship at all with Dannii. I have no idea how she is feeling about all of this because I simply do not talk to her. I am going to miss Sharon greatly. The show won't be the same. Sharon is very very upset about all this. She loves the show and everything about it".
Although it is always hard to work out how much of the feuding between the 'X-Factor' judges is part of a PR bid to get the tabs (and gullible fools like us) talking about the show and how much is real, insiders did say that many of the tensions between Osbourne and Minogue during the last series were genuine.
Of course 'X-Factor' judges have announced they are quitting before, only to return. But, if the News Of The World is to be believed, fellow judge and exec producer Simon Cowell isn't expecting Osbourne to return, and is currently sounding out former Spice Girl Mel B – one of his original choices for the judging panel before the first series of the show, apparently – about a judging role on the new series, which is due to go into production this week.