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Watch Simon Cowell Accidentally Punch ‘X Factor’ Contestant, Caitlyn Vanbeck

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 07:25 PST, Sep 25, 2016

Apparently, Simon Cowell has a punching problem.

The British music mogul is known for off-the-cuff honesty during his judging stints on some popular talent shows. It’s not uncommon for Cowell to offer harsh criticism to contestants on television shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent and X Factor, to name a few.

Audience members are accustomed to Simon saying things like, “I thought it was quite boring,” “You’ll be lucky if America votes you through tonight,” “You should be worried about your performance” and “If you’re here next week, you need to do some soul-searching.”

Simon Cowell doesn’t pull any punches, but he sure knows how to deliver one. During a recent showing of X Factor, Cowell was preparing to give his six finalists a group hug in appreciation for their hard work when the unthinkable happened, citing an Express News report.

Caitlyn Vanbeck, who was late arriving at the impromptu celebration, suddenly found herself on the receiving end one of Simon Cowell’s closed fists. Of course, it was an accident, but that didn’t stop social media from erupting in memes and offering a barrage of quips over the accidental punch seen all around the world.

The contestant didn’t appear injured — at least not physically. Vanbeck took it in stride and joined in on the group hug despite the knuckle sandwich.

Later Caitlyn joined other finalists in the “Girls” category on ITV2: Soheila Clifford, 19, Kayleigh Marie Morgan, 19, Gifty Louise, 20, Emily Middlemas, 17, and 16-year-old Olivia Garcia. The clip was shown there, reportedly, to make light of the situation, according to Metro. There, she talked about the embarrassing episode.

She joked about possibly launching a civil action in court towards Cowell over the embarrassing incident. “Yeah, maybe. He’s got a lot of money,” she quipped.

Simon’s unintentional haymaker was made all the worse, not from the punch itself, but from comments he made about Caitlyn’s performance. Viewers raved over her cover of Andra Day’s “Rise Up,” but Simon was unimpressed by the vocals and gave off the impression that he was taking a punch with her weight or body image.

“I don’t want to give you a chair; I want to give you a sofa!”

Of course, Simon tried to impress upon her how much he wanted her to stay on the show. Still, some responded by saying, “She’s not that fat, Simon!”

Caitlyn may be concerned, but it’s safe to say it’s not over Simon’s punch to her face. Days ago, she talked about X Factor’s “Six Chair Challenge” and compared it to the Hunger Games, according to the East Lothian Courier.

“It is hard because we spent a week together at Bootcamp and I got to know some of the girls, and we became friends. You don’t want your friends to be eliminated, but at the same time, if I get a seat, I don’t want to be giving that up to anybody either.”

It isn’t the first time Simon Cowell accidentally punched someone in the face. It seems as though he has a penchant for socking unsuspecting people in the face.

Last year on the red carpet during the Britain’s Got Talent auditions, Simon’s fist found its way on David Williams’ face. While the pair posed for snaps, Simon accidentally punched David in the face when his hand slipped off his kilt while trying to lift it up, as seen here on YouTube.

Perhaps, Simon Cowell is cueing the world for the debut of the Boxing Challenge?

[Featured image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images]

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