Simon Cowell Invites Eminem to Judge ‘The X Factor’ Because Hey, Why Not

Simon Cowell has reportedly offered to give Eminem a guest spot on The X Factor after the disparaging comments Em made last week towards the show. Hey, it doesn’t make any less sense than naming Quentin Tarantino a guest judge (and mentor) on American Idol.

According to various reports following the UK’s The Sun (so take it with a grain of salt, folks), Em is said to have a dim view of the British reality show. He ranted:

“No disrespect to the current judges but you need people who are global, platinum-selling stars. You need to prepare contestants for what it’s really like out there, and what sort of pressure you are going to be under. So much average talent comes out of these reality shows. A hip-hop star will never win a show like the ‘X Factor‘ without somebody like me on the panel. It needs somebody in power to open a door for them.”

Simon—who once referred to Eminem as a “genius”—responded to Em’s critiques by reportedly inviting him on the show. “It would be great to have him on as a guest judge. Em – I can call him that because we are on first name terms – the job is yours.”

Last we checked, there are no country singers on American Idol’s panel of judges, and yet Carrie Underwood still managed to squeak by, so perhaps it’s not all about the judges, hm?

Marshall didn’t quite state it explicitly, but his criticism brings up an intriguing question: since shows like Idol and X Factor have pretty much exclusively rewarded vocal acrobats who can belt out power ballads, is it even likely that their audiences should be considered qualified to recognize the hit-making potential of an aspiring rapper? Even if Eminem was helping to judge?

Sidenote: Why doesn’t he just bring back The Next? A rap battle show on Fox would almost certainly pull in the demographic that isn’t watching Glee.