Simon Cowell snubbed on social media by two One Direction band members after 'jibe'

Simon Cowell recently revealed his biggest regret from his days managing the group was not taking ownership of their band name for commercial profit. His words sparked a savage backlash on social media, with some accusing him of only caring about money.

And now two One Direction band members, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, have unfollowed the music mogul on both Instagram and Twitter. Simon had made the controversial comments during a podcast with celebrity entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, who is famous for his The Diary of a CEO podcast and his appearances on Dragons' Den.

Although the interview was geared around talking business, many fans took offence to Simon's claim that he would have loved to own the group's name and exploit it for profit, such as "animations". Talking of the spin-off ventures he could have created, he explained: "That's the problem, I could have made animation or whatever - but when you give an artist the name, it's not yours, and that's my only regret."

Hinting that Zayn Malik's decision to go solo in 2015 could have hampered a reunion for the other four in the group, he added: "If one of the band members says they don't wanna tour for whatever reason, it can stop the others touring.. but if it was me who owned the name, it wouldn't be a problem."

He then pointed out that he could also have profited from spin-off ventures if he'd had the rights to it. Then, turning to the camera and bursting into laughter, the Britain's Got Talent judge addressed the boys personally.

"If you're listening, I'll buy it back from you!" He quipped.

When the clip from the podcast was shared on TikTok, one follower accused: "Simon Cowell saw those boys as walking money bags and nothing more."

Another saw red as they quizzed: "His only regret is not being able to exploit the [band] for years after they last recorded any material together?"

A third was sceptical, writing: "I just don't buy Simon Cowell's PR strategy to project a softer and more caring public image. Not one little bit."

They added: "Haven't forgotten how he humiliated people on national TV for years."

In his X Factor days, Simon was renowned for his brutally honest straight-talking digs about musical acts he didn't rate.

However, he later revealed that, since welcoming son Eric, who is now ten, he has toned down his criticism.

"There’s no question: when you actually have a kid, it does make you feel different because you understand how you would feel if it was your son up there," he explained.