Simon Cowell has confirmed that he cut ties with Sir Philip Green to purge toxic people from his company.
The 59-year-old music mogul says he wanted to ensure his business was one that his son, Eric, four, can inherit and be proud of one day.
Sir Philip – who is facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment and bullying – was once so close to Simon that they holidayed together.
Simon Cowell (pictured, right) has said that he cut ties with Sir Philip Green (left) to purge toxicity from his business
He has a five per cent stake in Simon’s company, which is valued at £12.5million. But Simon told The Sun he stopped talking regularly with Sir Philip three years ago.
‘When it came to severing the ties, I wasn’t arguing about the money,’ he said. ‘You simply make a decision of who you want in your life and your business and it was my decision.
‘My only regret would have been if I had put money over principle, and I didn’t. So when I had the opportunity, I did what I did.’
He expressed annoyance at ’embarrassing’ rumours about his health and Syco, expressing concerns that people were portraying it as a ‘dark, awful place where all we’re trying to do is rip artists off’.
Cowell (pictured with Sir Philip in 2006) used to go on holiday with the fashion tycoon but is now trying to make his firm fit for his son to inherit
And Simon told the paper that he cut Sir Philip off six months before his controversial sale of BHS.
His revelations come after the fashion tycoon used a High Court injunction to provide cover for Non-Disclosure Agreements which reportedly involve allegations of racism and sexual harassment.
Cowell is sure he ‘would have regretted it’ if he had not acted to buy Sir Philip out of Syco.
He is restricted as to what he is able to say due to the sale of the shares being currently unconfirmed.
Sir Philip (left) is facing allegations of sexual harassment and bullying. Simon (right) says he has always understood the moral code that should be applied in the entertainment industry
His remarks about Sir Philip come after reports of his split from girl group Little Mix due to a row about their single Woman Like Me.
Addressing the #MeToo movement in which women use social media to draw attention to sexual harassment prevalent in the entertainment industry, he say she has a ‘clear conscience’ and understands ‘the moral code’.
He admits to having slowed down recently for the sake of his relationship with his son, saying he has stopped ‘crazy late-night phone calls and late-night meetings’ in the hope of preventing stress, which he calls ‘the biggest killer of all’. The slow-down follows years of not going to bed until 8am.
Sir Philip Green’s rise to retailing power set to become a TV drama
Work is under way to turn the ‘hubris and greed’ of Sir Philip Green’s rise to retailing power into a TV drama.
Rights to a book which charts the business dealings of the Arcadia Group boss have been bought by a production company seeking to dramatise his controversial climb in the business world.
Mammoth Screen, the company behind Victoria and Poldark, have secured the rights to adapt Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of Sir Philip Green, The Collapse Of BHS And The Death Of The High Street.
The book, written by Sunday Times business journalist Oliver Shah, follows the ascent of Sir Philip through a series of aggressive business manoeuvres, and aspects of his lavish personal wealth and spending.
Mammoth Screen boss Damien Timmer told Radio Times Magazine: ‘Oliver’s book is an unparalleled account of the last 40 years of big business in this country.
‘It’s the ultimate story of hubris and greed. We look forward to adapting this extraordinary book into a gripping and seminal drama for our times.’
Recently Sir Philip has been embroiled in allegations of misconduct, and controversy surrounding an injunction taken out to prevent his identification in the case. He denies the allegations.
Sir Philip has previously made headlines during the collapse of British Home Stores, which was sold off for £1 in 2015, leading ultimately to thousands of job losses.
There have been calls for the revocation of Sir Philip’s knighthood awarded during his career in business, which has prompted allegations of poor treatment of workers and of tax avoidance – issues detailed in Damaged Goods.
Mammoth Screen has confirmed that the dramatisation is in the early stages of production, and there is no set date for either filming or release. An interview with Timmer can be read in Radio Times Magazine, out today.
Little Mix SPLIT from Simon Cowell’s record label Syco after ‘row’ days before LM5 album release… as Jesy Nelson likes cryptic Instagram post
Olivia Wheeler for MailOnline
Little Mix split from Simon Cowell’s record label Syco after a ‘row’ just days before the release of their new album LM5.
The girl group, who won The X Factor in 2011, are claimed to have grown increasingly frustrated with the company over the last year, which resulted in arguments.
According to The Sun, Little Mix confronted Simon in an email, which reportedly caused a row between their management Modest and the music mogul.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge’s ‘cutting all ties’ with the company includes the girl group and Rak-Su.
Wings: According to The Sun , Little Mix confronted Simon in an email, which reportedly caused a row between their management Modest and the music mogul (pictured on The X Factor in 2011)
Little Mix is believed to stay within Sony, but will move to record label RCA instead of Syco.
A spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline: ‘Syco Music will no longer work with Modest Management and therefore any artists signed to that management company.
‘We do, of course, wish all artists affected by this decision every future success. Consequently, LM5, the forthcoming Little Mix album A&R’d and released on Syco Music, is to be serviced by RCA at the request of Syco and Simon Cowell.’
The reports come after Jesy Nelson appeared to like a cryptic Instagram post lashing out at record label Syco.
She hit the heart button on a post by a fan account called @littleshadymix, who said: ‘They’re gonna leave Syco and then tell us what s*** Syco put them through.’
Power: The girl group, who won The X Factor in 2011, are claimed to have grown increasingly frustrated with the company over the last year, which resulted in arguments
Little Mix is made up of Jesy, 27, Perrie Edwards, 25, Jade Thirlwall, 25, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 27.
While their new album, LM5, is set to be released on Friday 16 November.
The girl group’s new music has been hitting headlines recently after Cardi B insisted the 2011 X Factor winners approached her before rival Nicki Minaj for a collaboration on their Woman Like Me single.
To which Little Mix firmly denied the rapper’s claims amid her bitter feud with their ‘queen’ Nicki.
Taking to Instagram last month, the girl group shared screengrabs from their WhatsApp conversation from July to confirm they wanted to seal the deal with the 35-year-old for their new hit single.
Ouch!: The reports come after Jesy Nelson appeared to like a cryptic Instagram post lashing out at record label Syco
In their first post, members Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall slammed Cardi’s claims as they penned: ‘Sorry Cardi hun but this is the T. We always wanted the QUEEN (no shade).
In the second snap, the screengrab read: ‘[We need to] work on lyrics, change drop, confirm nick and then we’re good to go. If none of those things happen, then it’s not going to be released.’
During an lengthy rant against Bang Bang rapper Nicki on Monday, the 26-year-old explained she ‘declined’ an offer to feature on the single: ‘I’m doing a lot of pop records so I can’t over exaggerate myself but that came to me first.’
However, shortly after the claims, the British band shared a series of throwback clips where they displayed their long-awaited desire to collaborate with Nicki.
Amid the feud, Little Mix took to Twitter to further clarify their previous social media posts as they penned: ‘Both were approached by our label to work with us on Woman Like Me, Nicki then Cardi.
‘We went with Nicki because like we’ve said over and over for years, it’s been a dream of ours to work with her since the beginning.’
‘We have nothing but love and positivity for both Nicki and Cardi. The girls x’, they signed off.