'He lost fans over that'

Susan Boyle has finally responded to Ricky Gervais saying she looked like a ‘mong’– by calling him a ‘wasted’ talent.

She told The Sun: ‘I can take whatever Ricky says, because I'll tell you something — he's the one with the problem, not me.

‘Ricky's a talented man but he's wasted himself with those comments. I think people who liked him are not so keen now.’

‘I've had a lot of insults. Do you know what I do? I ignore them. I just get on with my life. Those who have something to say usually have nothing to do.’

It is the first time the Britain's Got Talent singer has spoken of the insult which Gervais made during his 2009 stand-up show Science.

He said: ‘I don't think she'd be where she is today if it wasn't for the fact that she looked like such a fucking mong. When she first came on the telly, I went, “Is that a mong?”

He subsequently claimed the word has lost its association with Down’s Syndrome. Viewers complained when the show was aired in Channel 4 last year, but regulators Ofcom ruled the broadcaster had not overstepped the mark on taste and decency.

Click here to watch some of the contentious routine.

Published: 5 Mar 2012