Simon Cowell may have terrorized many reality show contestants in his time — but he got a huge fright over the weekend when he came face to face with a female intruder in his London home.
Authorities say Cowell was watching TV late on Saturday night when he heard a “loud band” coming from his bathroom. He went to investigate and found a woman holding a brick. “She had smashed her way in through the window and it was unclear how long she had been there or what she was doing,” his rep explains. “It was a very frightening experience for Simon, who told me it was like something from a horror movie. He was just very lucky that all she had was a brick. She could have had a knife, a gun or any other weapon.”
Cowell’s security team detained the woman until police arrived and placed her under arrest. Later she was identified as 29-year-old Leanne Zaloumis, and charged with aggravated burglary.
While staring down what appears to be a crazed fan is certainly the scariest thing to happen to Cowell this week, it isn’t the only trouble he’s run into recently. The U.K. version of The Voice just beat out Britain’s Got Talent in the ratings, and Cowell is taking flack from will.i.am for failing to develop the careers of those who win his reality shows.
