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"The claws are out!\r\nIn recent episodes of The X Factor, the banter between judges Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell has become increasingly mean-spirited. (In the Dec. 5 episode, for example, the acerbic Englishman told the &amp;quot;Give Your Heart a Break&amp;quot; singer her critique of his group, Emblem3, was &amp;quot;incredibly dumb.&amp;quot; Lovato responded by stealing his microphone and talking over him.)\r\n\r\nAt the X Factor viewing party in L.A. Dec. 6, the 53-year-old TV mogul refused to say if the former Disney Channel star will return as a judge in season 3. &amp;quot;It&amp;apos;s that time of year. You&amp;apos;re always going to get asked that question, and I&amp;apos;m not going to answer it,&amp;quot; he told Us Weekly. &amp;quot;She&amp;apos;s fun. She really, really is tough little thing. I know she plays the &amp;apos;I&amp;apos;ve been bullied&amp;apos; [card]. Trust me, this one gives as good as she gets.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nWith only one act left in the competition prior to the Dec. 6 results show, Cowell implied the new judge may have been intentionally steering his groups in the wrong direction to save CeCe Frey. (Unfortunately for Lovato, the 21-year-old was the first act sent home that evening.)\r\n&amp;quot;She knew that she was about to be left with no one and it did get a bit bitchy and unpleasant,&amp;quot; Cowell said of Lovato, 20. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve got to look after my artists. Luckily, they didn&amp;apos;t listen to her.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe remaining four acts -- Emblem3, Fifth Harmony, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Tate Stevens -- will perform when the X Factor returns Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. EST on FOX."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/simon-cowell-demi-lovato-has-been-bitchy-and-unpleasant-on-the-x-factor-2012712>