The Mean Brit: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"(contestant name), I thought it was horrendous."''|'''Simon Cowell''', many times}}

The Mean Brit will bluntly tell mothers their kid sucks and make two-year-olds cry if their talent isn't good enough for him. The flip side of this is that [[Compassionate Critic|if he does compliment you, it means you must be really good]], and he's usually willing to stake his reputation on anyone who measures up. The other good quality some of them possess is that those who fall short of his standards but need help (or previously impressed him but have lost their way) can expect ''constructive'' criticism rather than just barbs. That's in the best case, however; in the worst case, they can just come across as a bully with a media platform and a fortune picking on people who can't fight back.

 

 

Compare and Contrast [[Evil Brit]].

 

* As mentioned, Cowell on ''[[American Idol]]'' and ''Britain's Got Talent''. He's known for his "No... I won't send you home" approach, his cases of hitting his fellow judges' klaxons in ''Britain's Got Talent'' and his put-downs, usually to [[Hopeless Auditionees]]. Granted, generally he's simply telling the truth, but does so in such a blunt way that it could only be taken as offensive.

** Some ''American Idol'' viewers took to saying "Paula will give you a pass if you're nice, Randy will give you a pass if you're black, but Simon will only give you a pass if you can ''actually sing.''"

* Peter Jones on ''American Inventor''.

* Len Goodman on ''[[Dancing With the Stars]]'' isn't really mean, but he ''is'' much more demanding and less likely to hand out fuzzy, feel-good comments like "I loved your energy!" or "You are a smoldering sex goddess!" than either Carrie Ann or Bruno, and more likely to base his comments on the actual dance. Like Simon, if Len says it was good, it was ''very'' good, and his criticisms virtually always relate to something the dancer needs to work on. On the other hand, if a performance was genuinely ''bad'' he won't pull his punches, as during the second season when he told Master P essentially 'You don't care, you aren't trying, you don't belong here, it's time for you to go home.' ''in the third week''.

* "Nasty" Nigel Lythgoe (who is bringing his show to the UK) held the title before Simon Cowell.

** He tends to keep his temper relative to his expectations: screw-ups by professionals in the culinary - restauranter, chef, waiter, etc.(who should know better) - will get the full brunt of his wrath, while non-professionals (like those who appear on ''[[The F Word]]'') are treated much more patiently by Ramsay.

 

* Anne Robinson on ''[[The Weakest Link]]''.

* [[Jimmy Carr]] on ''[[Distraction]]''. Some of his insults are just about as X-rated as his stand-up show.

* Steve Valentine on ''[[Estate of Panic]]''.

 

* Video game critic Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of [[Zero Punctuation]].

* Yahtzee's fellow ''[[The Escapist|Escapist]]'' contributor Jim Sterling, of Jimquisition.

 

* The [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of England in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' is cynical, bad-tempered, and has a sharp tongue, but he does occasionally show a softer side.

 

* Simon Cowell as himself in the rap battle scene in ''[[Scary Movie]] 3''.

 

* Begley in ''[[Neurotically Yours]]'' is British. He's also very mean, but so is pretty much everyone else.

* David Mitchell's "incredibly posh and aristrocratic" character in ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]''. He takes a number of different jobs like waiter, clothes store clerk, or vicar. He always gets contrasted to "that friendly australian girl" who used to work in his place.

'''Vicar:''' ''"I saw you in here last week. I saw you reading the notices and talking about your views. and eating other peoples' biscuits. We were watching you from the vestry, and we all thought you were a bitch!"'' }}

* The ''[[Psych]]'' episode "American Duos" parodies ''American Idol'', with [[Tim Curry]] playing the Simon Cowell role.

 

 

** He also criticises [[Credits Gag|the show's credits]] and makes special note of how [[Lampshade Hanging|unoriginal his own appearance is]].

** There's also a Simpsons short where he plays as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s66wTXO2F3g a really hopeless contestant]. An interesting role reversal, to be sure.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:National Stereotyping Tropes]]

[[Category:Fountain of Expies]]

[[Category:Reality TV Tropes]]