Simon Cowell attacks 'weirdo' Depeche Mode star

Simon Cowell has criticised Depeche Mode guitarist Martin Gore after he joked that The X Factor boss should be shot for what he has done to the music industry. Simon, 53, vented his fury and branded Gore a 'weirdo' in a series of comments on Twitter. In an interview with MusicWeek, guitarist Martin reportedly said: "I'm not advocating violence, but I think somebody should shoot Simon Cowell." He added: "His influence on the industry over the last God knows how many years... It's just like, so many people think that's what music is. "What happened to bands getting together?" Simon tweeted: "I read Martin Gore wants to shoot me. He was in Depeche Mode. Do you realise how weird and stupid that makes you? Go and watch the news. "Why I am angry about weirdo Gore is a ton of people have got shot this year and people like weirdo Gore encourage this." Simon has previously spoken of getting death threats and having to beef up security at his Los Angeles mansion. "People want to kill me," he said. "It's serious and we have a lot of security now for that reason. "My bosses told me they have been shown emails threatening my life. They said one man wanted to stab me. "It sent a chill down me. But I'm used to it," he said at the time.

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.