Robbie Williams & Britney Spears must get a grip!!!!

[TheMoog]

Mirror.co.uk - Showbiz - COWELL: ROBBIE AND BRITNEY MUST GET A GRIP!


COWELL: ROBBIE AND BRITNEY MUST GET A GRIP!



Exclusive by Eva Simpson And Caroline Hedley 05/03/2007

IF you thought Simon Cowell's acid-tongued TV persona was just an act, you'd be wrong.
When we met up with the X Factor creator in LA, he let fly on the subject of spoiled stars Robbie Williams' and Britney Spears' recent stints in rehab.
Sitting by the swimming pool at his eight-bedroom Beverly Hills office, TV's Mr Nasty blasts: "It's very fashionable to be in rehab.

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"This whole thing is a total indulgence, Britney and Robbie need to get a grip.
"We've allowed these people to feel sorry for themselves. I don't know what's going on in Britney's head but my attitude is I couldn't care less. She should go back and live with her mum for six months."
And he prescribes a short sharp shock for self-indulgent celebs. The multimillionaire mogul blasts: "I went to a deprived part of the world recently and saw a set of conditions that people live in that are beyond belief.
"It really opened my eyes. You can feel sorry for yourself over the smallest things but then you look at the world and you think, you know what, I've got nothing to complain about.
"So when I hear about the Robbies and the Britneys going into rehab I think, 'I'll tell you what rehab is. Go to where I just went, where people really are suffering and then you'll see just how good your life is.'
"I would make it compulsory that they have to go and live in a developing country for a couple of weeks. And then when you get home, as your butler is opening your curtains and making sure your bath water is the right temperature, you'll realise everything is fine." Simon insists his tough love attitudes are borne of bitter personal experience. He boasts a £90million fortune and is a superstar on both sides of the Atlantic with a sprawling megabucks mansion as well as the office where we meet.
But his Midas touch, masterminding shows such as X Factor, America's Got Talent and its soon-to-be-launched UK equivalent, didn't come easily.
"The reason I think the likes of Britney should just go home to mum is because I did it.
"I went bankrupt when I was 30 and lost everything. I made some bad investments and was back with myparents. I thought: 'It can't get any worse.' I felt I couldn't get any lower.
"But even though I didn't have a penny, my life didn't actually change.
"No one laughed at me for losing money, no one looked down at me because I had to sell my house and my Porsche.
As far as my parents were concerned I was just the same person.
"It makes you realise that what you think are important, the physical belongings, don't actually mean anything.
"But then when I started doing well it gave me a genuine sense of achievement.
"It made me grateful for everything I have in my life, because I know what it's like to have nothing."
It is Simon's appreciation of his success that keeps his feet firmly on the ground, he insists - although he admits that's a rarity in showbiz circles.
The 47-year-old continues: "Pop stars these days just get too much too soon.
"They don't actually have to work that hard for it and they lose their perspective.
"I mean Britney Spears is not working in a coal mine is she? You are whisked to the studio in a very large limo, you are flown around in a private jet, everyone will agree with you and physically making an album is a doddle.
"If we go back to Robbie, I've heard Rudebox and it's terrible. If it was by anyone else it wouldn't have been released."
One performer who Simon is certain will remember where she comes from is the latest X Factor winner, 21-year-old Londoner Leona Lewis. Simon says: "Leona is extremely down to earth. She knows the score.
There's real interest in her in the USA. Her album will be out in August or September and she absolutely has to make a great record."
And he has high hopes for last year's runnerup Ray Quinn, 18, whose self-titled album is out next week.
He says: "Ray's a good kid, one of the nicest people I've ever met and he's going to sell a lot of records.
"We recorded it live in the same studio and with some of the same musicians that worked with Frank Sinatra and it sounds totally authentic."
Simon is also working on the first series of Britain's Got Talent, which starts next month. The ITV1 show has entertainers competing for the chance to star in a Royal Variety Show.
Simon laughs: "It's the funniest show I've ever been on in my life. We had 1,500 people in the audience and it was like the Roman Colosseum.
Kids were coming out and getting booed.
"Vicious, but it is a fascinating show. One of the most bizarre things was when a transvestite came on stage. Her 'talent' was dancing.
"And halfway through her act, this female dwarf comes jumping out of her suitcase, who's then attached to reins like a horse.
"The transvestite then started to ride the dwarf - of course we put her straight through." But despite his status as one of the most influential men on TV, one thing Simon admits he hasn't got talent for is parenting.
Despite a four-year relationship with former model Terri Seymour, Simon insists he'll never put a ring on her finger and has no desire to carry on the Cowell name.
"Terri's always known my views on marriage. I'm not a great believer, especially in showbiz.
"It's just painful when you read about someone like Macca's marriage breakdown in all that intimate detail. It's just horrible.
"I don't think I'd make a very good parent - I just don't have the patience. I don't have that ability, sleepless nights and all that.
"My theory has always been if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
'Pop stars don't have to work hard at all
'She's not exactly in a coal mine, is she?

[texlux]

I love him.

[Novice]

I agree that she needs to do something but go live with her mum? She's been her mum's mealtickets for years, so no.... not a good idea.

[Mira]

Good on Simon for speaking out about this. But funny how people dissed Leonardo DiCaprio for saying it but not Simon.

[Kathie_Moffett]

People expect Cowell to speak the oft-unpleasant, blessedly-devoid-of-tact truth. It's not Leo's job.

I agree with Cowell on this, although I do suspect Britney may be literally crazy at the root of it all and therefore possibly incapable of comprehending what a lucky life she has.

I think Cowell should found a rehab center.

[Sweets]

Originally Posted by Kathie_Moffett

People expect Cowell to speak the oft-unpleasant, blessedly-devoid-of-tact truth. It's not Leo's job.

I agree with Cowell on this, although I do suspect Britney may be literally crazy at the root of it all and therefore possibly incapable of comprehending what a lucky life she has.

I think Cowell should found a rehab center.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree to a point with what Simon said but if Britney has PND or Bipolar as they suspect then sending her to Africa or some other far flung place to witness poverty isn't going to help fix the root of her problems.

Same with Robbie Williams, he suffers from depression.

[Chilly Willy]

^^ I agree. I don't pity either of them, but depression doesn't have anything to do with the circumstances you live in. It's a neurological problem.

I'm just as tired of hearing Robbie Williams whine as the next girl, but it's not that simple.

[DitaPage*]

Bravo, so well spoken!

[cheray]

It makes everything you have and struggle for seem so ......welll really not worth that much when people who have nothing are probably happier. To think that what makes people happy is acceptance and love, not the possessions that great wealth brings when you become so well known that you forget who you are. Having someones approval would make me prouder than if they gave me $50 to piss off and leave them alone. Being accepted feels better than $50 bucks in your pocket. Being idolised by millions and having no privacy or so called childhood is the goods you get for the $50 million in your pocket. Hmmm....second thoughts.....Maybe I dont care if people approve of me or not..........

[DitaPage*]

I'd rather have the 50 bucks, fuck people's approval. Its not something i care about. But i know what you're talking about cheray- feeling loved and appreciated is much better than having alot of posessions- britney had everything, really, but was still unhappy, so it just goes to show that money doesn't equal happiness. Its not the only thing and the most vital thing that humans need.

[Mira]

Surreal adolescence + drug use = ceasing to care about beautiful house, cute kids, self.

[SweetPea]

Originally Posted by cheray

It makes everything you have and struggle for seem so ......welll really not worth that much when people who have nothing are probably happier. To think that what makes people happy is acceptance and love, not the possessions that great wealth brings when you become so well known that you forget who you are. Having someones approval would make me prouder than if they gave me $50 to piss off and leave them alone. Being accepted feels better than $50 bucks in your pocket. Being idolised by millions and having no privacy or so called childhood is the goods you get for the $50 million in your pocket. Hmmm....second thoughts.....Maybe I dont care if people approve of me or not..........

I agree with you. Being idolised by millions instead of one true love, I'll take the true love anyday. 'That' you can take with you.