I’m not sure if people still care at this point, but I’m still following The Cheryl Cole Debacle. Last week, the news came out that Cheryl Cole had been abruptly fired from the American version of The X Factor. Various reasons were discussed: Cheryl’s thick accent, which might have been difficult for Americans to understand; Cheryl’s lack of chemistry with Paula Abdul, who is crazy; and perhaps even my theory, that Americans have enough people who are famous for no reason, and we don’t need the UK exporting their talent less faux-celebrities. No, that’s not fair to Cheryl. She’s HUGE in the UK. She’s a genuine celebrity, and lots of British people adore her. Anyway, as I mentioned last Thursday, after she was fired, Cheryl went back home to London and is said to be hiding out, not answering calls because she’s so humiliated. The British tabloids were all over it this weekend, and The Mail grabbed some of the greatest hits from various stories. Interestingly enough, there are lots and lots of quotes attributed to Cheryl from The News of the World. Remember the wire-tapping scandal with NOTW? Yeah. I feel like we’re reading transcripts from Cheryl’s phone conversations with friends.

Devastated Cheryl Cole is said to have refused ITV’s £2.5million offer to return to the UK X Factor, by not taking calls from show bosses before her deadline last night. And a friend of the singer revealed she said of Cowell: ‘I’ve been used. Why put me through it? It’s cruel’, after being axed from the US version. The 27-year-old is apparently distraught and still refusing to talk out other offers, while she has been holed up in a London flat with her mother Joan.

Cheryl’s deadline to decide whether to return to the UK X Factor was midnight last night, but as she apparently ignored Simon Cowell’s attempts to contact her, and has consequently blown her chance to return. Filming will now commence on Wednesday sans Cole, according to the News of the World.

A close associate of Cowell told the tabloid: ‘The brutal truth is that no one is bigger than the show – not Cheryl and not even Simon. We have a huge show and we need to get on the road on Wednesday and we needed to know if Cheryl was coming with us. We have bent over backwards for Cheryl and she hasn’t engaged with us. She is out. That’s showbusiness.’

Another source added that show bosses gave the Girls Aloud star a ‘ridiculous’ deadline to try and reply to, which made it almost impossible for her to accept. Cowell apparently gave her an ultimatum, telling her: ‘Do you want another job on more money? It’s a question: yes or no?’

But even if she had said yes, executives are said to be worried that her attitude might hinder the panel.

One told the Sunday Mirror: ‘It’s an entertainment show and the judges have to be cheerful and positive. We are not sure she is in the right place to take it on.’

The British panel will now consist of Louis Walsh, 58, Take That singer Gary Barlow, 40, N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, 22, and former Destiney’s Child star Kelly Rowland, 30.

Cheryl was dumped from the US X Factor last Tuesday and replaced by Nicole Scherzinger after having already started filming auditions.

A source close to the singer said: Cheryl is deeply humiliated and she wants Simon to make it clear that she wasn’t sacked, but was needed back in Britain.’

But Cheryl apparently told a friend after being axed from the US version: ‘It’s unfair. They did tests beforehand with focus groups and everything was fine. I was flirting with the guys who auditioned and I had good banter with the panel. I don’t know what more I could have done. I know this was Simon’s decision and that’s why it’s so hurtful. I don’t know why nobody told me I hadn’t been performing well,’ the News of the World reported.

Yesterday ITV bosses apparently pulled out all the stops to woo her back to the UK show, with a massive offer of £2.5 million to return. But after being humiliated last week, it seems the star has decided to not return despite the huge offer.

Cheryl is said to still be furious with Cowell and likened the humiliation to that of her divorce from philandering ex-husband Ashley Cole. She apparently told a friend: ‘After what happened in my marriage I made it quite clear I found it impossible to trust another man. But I did trust Simon, I let myself believe he had my best interests at heart. Now he’s done this to me.’

She went on to vent that she apparently never wanted to do the American show but Cowell had pushed her into it, promising he’d make her a star Stateside. The fragile singer is also thought to have said she was not in the right frame of mind to return to the British show after being axed from the US.

‘I can’t hide my feelings. This is all so raw for me right now. My life has been turned upside down – they have treated me really badly’, she told a friend according to the News of the World.

Since arriving back in London, Cheryl is said to have been hiding away in a flat with her mother, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. She is said to now be contemplating her future, as she had previously planned this year around touring with X Factor. But other offers are claimed to be pouring in for the pop star, including an apparent deal with the BBC. The tabloid claimed that BBC bosses are keen to sign her for their new singing show The Voice. She is also said to have had an offer from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation record label, according to the Daily Star Sunday.

A source said: ‘Literally every TV network is after her now. But she’s not ready to speak to anyone yet.’

Although Simon and Cheryl are not talking at the moment, Cowell is said to be angered over the way things turned out and had a massive row with executives at Fox.

A source old the Star: ‘He is absolutely seething right now, and despite also being a producer on the show, he feels as if his opinions mean absolutely nothing. The whole show is in crisis.’

Mail Online contacted a spokesperson for Simon Cowell and ITV but they refused to comment on the reports.

[From The Mail]

As I’ve said, I do feel for Cheryl. Just a few months ago, she was on top of the world with soaring popularity in the UK, about to make her big, splashy debut in America. Now she’s not only been publicly humiliated by getting fired from the American version, but now she’s lost her job with the British version. I hope she saved her money!

Photos courtesy of Fame.