Simon Cowell Rejects Britney Spears Drama

29 May 2012

Simon Cowell has come to co-judge Britney Spears' defence amid reports that she has been walking off the set of The X Factor midway through auditions -blaming the media for spreading false rumours.

Simon recently unveiled Spears and Disney alumni Demi Lovato as the new additions to the U.S. version of the show's judging panel and the audition stages got underway with tryouts in Austin, Texas last week (24 May).

But the show has so far been plagued by rumours of Britney's diva behaviour -- starting with the report that Britney walked off set on her first day after a contestant butchered her song Hold It Against Me, but Spears has since laughed off the claims on Twitter.com, insisting she was "just taking a little break".

Now Cowell and Lovato have poked fun at the allegations in a new video interview for The X Factor website, joking that it was the former Disney star who actually stormed off unexpectedly.

In the footage, Lovato adopts an English accent and says, "I was like, you know, tired of Simon, so I had to just, like, go."

Cowell then got serious to address the rumours once and for all, telling the interviewer: "There was no walking off. We have breaks every five or six songs. You can go have a cigarette, you can go to the loo (toilet). So as soon as anyone left their chairs, it was reported... that someone had left the show - and they hadn't!"

What do you think? Are the rumours true? Will Britney struggle in this role?