Simon Cowell‘s Britain’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer act were given the boot during the first live semi-final of the show on Monday after he savagely turned on them.
Viewers were stunned as he told Ukranian stunt roller skaters Duo Stardust he was disappointed in their performance, prompting series fans to ask if the seemingly mellowed talent show judge’s acid tongue had returned.
Married couple Vlada and Yevhenii were voted by Simon as his second Golden Buzzer act during Sunday’s episode but they were kicked out of the competition by the viewing public after they failed to get enough votes on Monday.
Their first audition in front of the judges – Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli – involved Yevhenii spinning Vlada around by her ankles while circling on his skates, before they were hoisted into the air on a high-wire as fireworks on the back of Vlada’s skates lit up the theatre.
During Monday’s live semi-final, viewers took to social media to say the pair were their winners but Simon held a different opinion, saying he felt let down despite them flinging panellist Bruno into the air as part of their act.
Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer act were given the boot during the first live semi-final of the show on Monday after he savagely turned on them
Viewers were stunned as he told Ukranian skaters Duo Stardust he was disappointed in their performance, prompting fans to ask if the seemingly mellowed judge’s acid tongue was back
Simon said: ‘This was great. It wasn’t as good as the audition though.’
As the audience booed him, Simon continued: ‘I’m disappointed and I’ll tell you why. I think you let the production overshadow your talent tonight which is a real shame.’
Taking to social media, viewers asked if Simon would be bringing back the frequent harsh comments he made on BGT and other talent shows, while others were stunned that Duo Stardust had exited the contest.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘Simon saying that about his OWN golden buzzer act. Is the old Simon coming back??’
While someone else posted: ‘Never seen Simon turn on his golden buzzer act like that before.’
Another shocked viewer wrote: ‘Simon slagging off his golden buzzer act.’
While someone else commented: ‘I actually agree with Simon it wasn’t as good as audition.’
Someone else shared: ‘Yeah Simon is right duo stardust his golden buzzer it wasn’t as good as the first time round due to the stage production. I felt the same, but both do have talent.’
Married couple Vlada and Yevhenii were voted by Simon as his second Golden Buzzer act during Sunday’s episode
They were kicked out of the competition by the viewing public after they failed to get enough votes on Monday
The pair brought show judge Bruno Tonioli on stage and flung him into the air as part of their semi-final act but they did not win enough votes from viewers to continue in the competition
However, someone else remarked: ‘Na not having that… #DuoStardust should of been in top 3. #BGT #BritainsGotTalent.’
‘I’m amazed DuoStardust are going home,’ declared another show fan.
‘Such a shame for Duo Stardust – things didn’t go well for them tonight. Their audition was great as well,’ wrote someone else.
After six weeks of Britain’s Got Talent auditions, the live semi-finals kicked off on Monday as eight acts competed with one another in the hope of landing themselves a valuable place in Sunday’s grand finale.
A further eight entrants will feature each night of the week before the final, with two acts from each evening making it through – one decided from a public vote and the second decided by the judges.
The winner will get a life-changing £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance.
The eight acts who performed on Monday night were Sven Smith, The Trickstars, Trey Braine, Sslaubi Performance Troupe, Taryn Charles, Bikoon, Stardust and Innocent Massuki.
Also performing on Monday night’s show was the West End cast of Disney’s award-winning musical The Lion King.
During Monday’s live semi-final, viewers took to social media to say the pair were their winners but Simon held a different opinion
It comes after Simon and Amanda’s children pushed the golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent as the auditions for the series came to an end on Sunday.
During the episode, Japanese skipping dancers Haribow, who somersaulted across the stage doing various tricks, left the judges almost speechless.
They received a standing ovation from the audience and numerous pleas for a golden buzzer, which would put them straight through to the semi-finals and are generally used only by the judges and hosts, from the BGT fans.
Alesha said she had ‘none left’ regarding the buzzers along with Bruno, while Simo said that he ‘did not know what to say’.
‘My son is literally going crazy right now,’ Simon added.
Simon Cowell let his son Eric and Amanda Holden’s daughter Hollie gatecrash the Britain’s Got Talent auditions on Sunday as they both smashed the Golden Buzzer
Simon said he had ‘never heard a reaction like that before’ before gesturing to his son Eric, 10, to push the button after Japanese skipping dancers Haribow auditioned
The audience went wild after Japanese skipping act Haribow took to the stage
Haribow, a group of performers from Japan, all aged between 22 and 24, performed street dance while skipping on jump ropes
His son Eric, who he shares with wife Lauren Silverman, then went over and pushed the buzzer along with Amanda’s daughter Hollie, who she shares with record producer husband Chris Hughes.
‘They pressed it for the audience,’ Amanda said before calling the dancers ‘unbelievable’.
Congratulating the dance troupe, host Dec told them: ‘That’s never happened before.’
Britain’s Got Talent returns for the second live semi-final on Tueaday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.