Simon Defends ‘American Idol’ Eye Roll

Simon Cowell has long been known as “American Idol’s” resident sultan of sarcasm, and while his predictable and often jaw dropping slams usually don’t raise nary an eyebrow, a simple roll of the eyes on Tuesday night’s show has landed Simon in a heap of controversy.

Following what Simon called a “nasally” performance from Chris Richardson, the contestant defended his performance, claiming he choose to sing nasally on purpose, and then offered condolences to the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

“My heart and prayers go out to Virginia Tech. I have a lot of friends over there. Be strong,” Richardson said to the cameras, which quickly panned to Cowell who was caught looking at Paula Abdul and rolling his eyes.

And while the feisty Brit was immediately admonished by fans for his insensitivity, Simon defended himself Wednesday morning, insisting his roll of the eyes had nothing to do with Richardson’s message regarding the college campus tragedy.

“The truth is that I had switched off at the point. I was talking to Paula and I was saying to Paula, ‘What does he mean he sang nasally on purpose?’ I didn’t understand what he was saying. So, I hadn’t even heard what he did. My eye rolling was what I was saying to Paula,” Simon said on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS FM radio show on Wednesday. “I have never heard so much rubbish. Half the time, I can’t hear what they are saying and I’m not sure they can hear what I’m saying.”

Simon said once he heard how his roll of the eyes was interpreted, he wanted to clear it up immediately.

“This is a very, very sensitive subject and the irony is that we wanted to try and set the right tone on the show and then something like this happens and it just starts fanning the flames and people have to understand that there are families are involved,” Cowell explained. “It’s not right.”

In fact, “Idol” kicked off the show with a heartfelt message acknowledging the families and victims of the college campus massacre, which Seacrest also mentioned on his radio interview with Cowell.

“I want to make it clear that you and I wanted to say something because we felt obligated to say it. We truly believed that it was important to address it right at the top of the show,” Seacrest said. “You can’t ignore something like that.”

“Completely,” Simon agreed. “And having watched it back, I think Chris was right to have said what he said because he’s from that neck of the woods. If I had heard him, I would have responded properly to that.”

Richardson is a native of Chesapeake, Virginia.

Even “Idol” big wig Nigel Lythgoe felt it necessary to respond to the controversy and defend his judge.

“This is a sad time for everyone, so it is especially disheartening that a quick camera cutaway could have been misinterpreted,” the “Idol” executive producer said. “We’re sorry for any grief caused by this misunderstanding, but Simon was not reacting to Chris at that point. He had turned to speak to Paula and didn’t actually hear Chris’ final comments. Everyone at ‘American Idol’ feels compassion for those affected by this tragedy. We opened the show with those thoughts and Simon later expressed sincere condolences on behalf of the judges, recognizing the challenges we all face in dealing with this horrible event.”