Nicole Scherzinger’s former manager is claiming that the drama over her replacing Cheryl Cole as a judge on X Factor was a set-up from the very beginning. Jeff Haddad is saying that Nicole was always intended to be a judge on the US version of the show, and that Cheryl was used as a stooge to whip up publicity.
Haddad told the UK’s Mirror, “In my opinion, Simon Cowell always wanted Nicole as a judge. There was never a question that she wouldn’t get it. Nicole was always going to be on the judging panel. Cheryl was just being used as a cog in the wheel to cause hype and publicize the show. I had long discussions with Simon about her judging the US show and she was always a front-runner. Cheryl’s name never came into it and Nicole was never supposed to be a host. Her hosting the show wasn’t even mentioned. Cheryl’s accent never came into it – it was a cover-up excuse. Americans are used to all sorts of accents – it would have worked in her favor, if anything. Plus, she’s a great girl and an accent wouldn’t have been a factor in getting rid of her.”
