Nicole Scherzinger stormed out of a taping of The X Factor U.K. episode airing Saturday. She got into an argument with fellow judge Simon Cowell during the Six Chair Challenge and was booed by the audience.
The 39-year-old former Pussycat Dolls singer sent home on member of her Over-25 contestants instead of another. After the last singer performed, Scherzinger told the contestant that she wasn’t impressed, only to pick the singer for her team regardless.
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‘I was hoping to connect with that performance more and I didn’t,” Scherzinger said, reports the Daily Mail. “But what wins for me is that I love a fighter and you’re a fighter. And I want you on my team!”
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Scherzinger eliminated one of the more popular members from her team so the last singer could take the final spot. The decision was met with boos from the audience and Cowell was left stunned. The other judges, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, were surprised too. Host Dermot O’Leary called the decision “insane” as he held the singer in his arms.
“That is crazy! That is madness,” Cowell proclaimed.
As the boos grew louder, Scherzinger grabbed her coat and left the stage.
The Six Chair Challenge happens after the contestants are split into four categories and assigned to each judge, who becomes their mentor. Scherzinger is the mentor for the Over-25 group. There’s been a big change for the current season during this stage, where the judge sits far from the other judges and cannot talk to them for advice while making cuts to their groups. It also means that the judge sits in front of the live audience alone.
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The Daily Mail notes that there’s been rumors Scherzinger is planning to leave The X Factor again so Cheryl Cole can return. Cole is already set to return this season for the Judges’ Houses round.
Scherzinger, who was also a judge on the short-lived U.S. X Factor, was previously a judge on the U.K. X Factor in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. Cole last appeared on the show in 2010.
“If I don’t come back, it’s not because I don’t love the show,” Scherzinger told Talk TV earlier this month. “It’s because I’m a singer first… Adele took time out to work on her music. Ed [Sheeran] took some time. I think every artist needs that, to reflect.”
