Cheryl Cole Is Officially Out of X Factor

It’s been the talk of town for weeks in a row, but it’s just now that fans of X Factor get official confirmation that Cheryl Cole will not be on the US version of the show, which will premiere this fall and for which auditions are already under way.

TV Line reports that, some weeks after word got out that Cheryl had been dropped from the judges panel, Freemantle Media has finally confirmed that she is out of the show.

Not only that, but the statement also says that she’s been replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, who had initially been hired as host of the new show.

“Nicole Scherzinger will be replacing Cheryl Cole on the judging panel of The X Factor. Nicole will join Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid and Paula Abdul on their search across America to find the next global superstar or group to win the life-changing $5 million dollar recording deal,” Freemantle Media says.

“Nicole has previously joined Simon Cowell as a guest judge on The X Factor for the UK version of the show in 2010. Steve Jones will act as sole host of The X Factor,” the statement adds.

Only yesterday, reports in the media had it that producers had approached Cole, offering her the judge job back because she wanted to be paid in full for the 4 days she spent in the US at the auditions.

Since her contract for the season was of $1.5 million, producers had reportedly decided that it was best to have Cole as judge instead of paying her this kind of money for just 4 days.

As for what prompted her sudden (and forceful) departure from the show, unnamed production sources cite her thick accent and her lack of chemistry with the other judges on the panel as reasons.

Since she’s been so unceremoniously dropped from X Factor, Cheryl Cole has gone into hiding.