Simon Cowell and One Direction Steve Granitz/Getty/Dave Hogan Simon Cowell made headlines this week when he shared his “only regret” about his time working with One Direction , and quickly found himself at the centre of a backlash. The former X Factor judge mentored the boyband during their time on the ITV talent show in 2010, and went on to sign them to his now-defunct record label. Advertisement Speaking to Stephen Bartlett on his Diary Of A CEO podcast , Simon said: “ The one thing I regret is I should have kept the name.
” He explained: “That’s the problem. I could have made an animation. Whatever.
But when you give an artist the name, it’s not yours. And that’s my only regret. So if you’re listening, I’ll buy it back.
” The Britain’s Got Talent star added: “That’s the only thing I do regret. Because if one of the band members, for whatever reason, say they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others touring. So if it was me who own the name, it wouldn’t be a problem.
” One Direction pictured together in 2014 Fred Duval via Getty Images Advertisement Simon – who is currently on the search to put together a new boyband with a nationwide talent search – concluded: “That was me being very, very naive. So next time that will be part of the deal. I have to earn the name.
They can still make most of the money, but I need to own the name.” His comments were heavily criticised online, particularly by One Direction fans, who accused the TV mog.
