Simon Cowell trashes ‘The Voice’ for schedule move

Simon Cowell just uncorked some of the most withering criticism of his career. But it wasn’t directed at some hapless contestant on Fox’s “The X Factor” -- this time, his ire was pointed at “The Voice,” his main competition in televised singing shows.

Cowell unloaded his scorn after NBC added a third night to “The Voice’s” season premiere, which airs next Monday, Tuesday and now Wednesday. The latter date officially conflicts with “The X Factor’s” season premiere, and Cowell is, shall we say, unhappy about it.

“This is a cynical, cold-hearted, unprofessional way of doing business,” he said to TMZ, citing a previous “gentlemen’s agreement” that kept to the similar shows in different time slots.

He even rescusitated a late ‘90s diva rivalry Between “X Factor” judge Britney Spears and “The Voice’s” Christina Aguilera, declaring that “Britney’s not going to appreciate the fact that Christina -- who has been a bit of a rival -- isn’t allowing Britney to have a night of her own.”

“The reason they’ve done this is they don’t want people to see ‘X Factor’ because they’ve heard how good the series is. They don’t want their audience to see Britney Spears,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Cowell has tussled with “The Voice.” When that show made its British debut, it went up against Cowell’s “Britain’s Got Talent,” and “The Voice” lost in a rating war.

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