Cheryl Cole Sues X Factor Producers For $2.3 Million

By Eric Brown | December 08 2012 3:56 PM

Cheryl Cole, host of the British talent competition TV show "The X Factor," is suing producers of the American version of the show after she was fired from the new version. Cole is asking for $2.3 million in damages.

Britney Spears’ first day in her new role as “X Factor” judge got off to a bumpy start. Here she sits with (L to R) L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell.

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Originally, Cole was slated to join Simon Cowell, Steve Jones and others in the American adaptation of the hit British talent competition. Because Cole had been a big hit in the U.K. on "X Factor," many assumed she would be integral to the American version, and Cole signed a lucrative “pay or play” contract to bring her to America.

According to TMZ, executives at Fox eventually decided that Cole’s accent would be too hard for the average American to decipher, and Cole was let go from "X Factor" before it aired in the U.S. But Cole’s contract stated that whether or not she appeared on the show, she would still receive $1.8 million for the first season and $2 million for the second, as well as numerous living expenses.

Among the lavish expenses Cole was promised in her "X Factor" contract were a $100,000 wardrobe allowance, $25,000 for a personal stylist, $15,000 each month for lodging expenses in Los Angeles and $2,500 each month for various other living expenses.

While Cole maintains that she was paid the $1.8 million for the first season of "X Factor," she claims producers never paid her for the second season, which she also did not appear in. Now, Cole is suing the producers of the show for $2.3 million to collect the money she was denied from the show.

Cole was first replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, who was later fired to make room for former teen-pop superstar Britney Spears.