Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 08/30/2012 at 8:43 AM News

The Popdust Files: simon cowell

Try calling Simon Cowell a jerk now, you soft-skinned ninnies. The X Factor judge, known for his gruff on-show demeanor and tendency to speak his mind at all occasions, has been praised as a hero for an impromptu rescue mission he launched while “holidaying” on the high seas with his ex-girlfriend Sinitta (and sure, we go cruising around the coast of France with our exes all the damn time).

According to the London Evening Standard, Cowell was chilling around St. Tropez when he received a mayday distress call. Cowell ordered the captain of his ship to go bail them out, and the nine aboard the distressed yacht were rescued without injury. Sinitta tweeted about the incident:

OMG!! Just had a May Day message , 35ft boat sinking.. SC has sent us to help and rescue 9 people on board! Slipstream look alike boat

— Sinitta (@sinittaofficial) August 29, 2012

Everyone ok, noone hurt.captain won’t let boat sink, petrol in sea etc would cause major problems and fines. No tide, so hole plugged

— Sinitta (@sinittaofficial) August 29, 2012

So next time Simon’s on X Factor and says a contestant sounds like a dying cow or whatever and you wanna get all “Why you gotta be so mean?” on him, just ask yourself when the last time you saved a baseball team’s worth of lives while on vacation? Years, at least, we’re betting.

[Rickey]