'X Factor' judge Simon Cowell has sparked fury after changing his mind about letting a contestant through to the next round of the show because she is pregnant.
Cowell and his fellow judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne initially put the singer through to the next round of the show but Cowell then began to have second thoughts.
Speaking during the audition, Cowell said to Katie Boothand, who is five and a half months pregnant: "I'm working out the dates here, not great dates are they?".
He then said: "You're five and a half months pregnant so you'd be having a baby right in the middle of the live shows."
After the discussion, Dannii Minogue was the only judge to say "no" to the singer.
She said: "I've got nothing against pregnant women but you can't be singing on live TV and giving birth at the same time."
After the judges had put Boothand through to the next round, Cowell began to have doubts.
"A part of me thinks we shouldn't have just done that because she's five and a half months pregnant. That should have been a 'no'. It doesn't feel right, I'm almost inclined to change my mind now," Cowell said.
The judge then went outside and said to Boothard: "I think we've made a mistake."
"I absolutely think this is the wrong decision and I know it's horrible to be given a 'yes' but I want to be honest with you, I don't feel right about this."
"I'm thinking about you and the kid and everything and I think this is absolutely the wrong thing to do," he said.
Boothand said: "He knew I was carrying a baby. He knew I was five and a half months pregnant. He knew the complications."
"At the end of the day, that's my decision and if I want to enter this competition and go all the way to the end, I will do that."
