Seacrest: Cowell is 'pompous'

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has slated the show's head judge - acerbic Brit Simon Cowell - for being "too harsh" with some of the contestants.

Speaking to the Straits Times in singapore, Seacrest said: “I think that he’s pompous. I think that he’s arrogant. So my feelings about him, and the way that I address him on air, are very real.???

“I think he says things that are at times a bit too harsh and could probably convey them in a different light so that they don’t crush a young person’s dream."

He added that despite their professional differences, him and Cowell remain good friends.