Susan Boyle: I can take whatever Ricky Gervais says... he’s the one with the problem not me
SuBo blasts comic's insult as 'waste of talent'
Published: 48 minutes ago
SUSAN BOYLE has finally hit back at Ricky Gervais's cruel "mong" jibe, calling him a "wasted" talent.
Speaking about the comic's insult for the first time, 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."
Office star Ricky claimed that the Britain's Got Talent singer looked like a "mong" — a highly offensive slang term used to mock Down's syndrome sufferers — during his stand-up show Science, screened on Channel 4 last year.
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 f*****g mong. There is no better word to describe Susan Boyle.
"When she first came on the telly, I went, 'Is that a mong?' "
Viewers reported him to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom but in January they cleared Channel 4 of breaching guidelines on offensive content — and Ricky even tweeted the ruling.
However Susan has had the last laugh, with three No1 albums that have sold more than 17million copies worldwide, helping to earn her an estimated £11million.
She said: "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."
Those jibes have been suffered by Susan ever since she was deprived of oxygen at birth, leading to mild learning difficulties.
At school, bullies nicknamed her "Simple Susan" — and even after she shot to fame in the 2009 series of the ITV1 talent contest the stinging remarks didn't stop.
The same year Sharon Osbourne made several vicious insults in a US radio interview, saying SuBo looked like "a hairy a*******e", adding that God had hit her with "a f*****g ugly stick".
Telly judge Nigel Lythgoe — dubbed Nasty Nigel on ITV1 talent show Popstars in 2001 — once claimed Susan "looked like Shrek's older sister".
Even Sir Elton John questioned her mental capabilities when he told Radio Times: "Susan Boyle was an endearing phenomenon but I fear she might not understand the rigours of showbusiness."
This week The Sun was the only paper invited for an exclusive sneak peek behind the scenes as Susan attended rehearsals in Glasgow for I Dreamed A Dream, a new musical that tells her extraordinary story.
Susan will be the guest star for the show's tour. And she admits she will struggle to hold back the tears, particularly at one scene when a doctor tells her parents Patrick and Bridget their new-born ninth child has been deprived of oxygen.
Susan, now 50, said: "Why do I cry at that? Because that's the reality.
"That's when the doctor tells my parents, 'Don't expect too much.' He prejudged me. All the doctor told my mum was what I wouldn't be able to do, not what I could do. But my dad said, 'All that child needs is love — and we've got plenty of that.' It makes me cry just thinking about it, never mind seeing it on stage every night."
She added: "I Dreamed A Dream is a very romanticised view. It's more like I dared to dream — that's what it feels like to me.
"Because everyone dreams of changing their circumstances, though not in the way I did. I couldn't have imagined taking off the way I did." The show, which starts its UK tour at the end of this month, is packed with hits including Stealers Wheel's 1973 song Stuck In The Middle With You and her own anthem I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Miserables.
One song Susan wanted in the musical was Madonna's 1995 ballad You'll See — but the Material Girl refused.
Susan — played on stage by Rab C Nesbitt star Elaine C Smith — said: "We had to get permission for all the songs in the show.
"Cameron Mackintosh gave us permission for I Dreamed A Dream from Les Mis — but we never got Madonna's You'll See." Susan has taken fame in her stride, although she admits it does have its downsides. She said: "Most folk are great but when someone comes up and sticks their camera phone in your face it's bad manners.
"It's like you're not a real person, you're a commodity. I went to Ireland once thinking it would be quiet and they were on me like wasps around jam.
"Back home I'm in my neighbourhood. Everyone knows me there and everyone's used to me."
Despite forking out £300,000 on a plush new house, Susan famously moved back into the council home she had shared with her folks, including dad Patrick, who died aged 80 in 1990. She then helped to nurse her elderly mother Bridget — the woman she called "my guiding light" — until her death in 2007, aged 91.
And she revealed that she puts the tragic events of her life into every song she sings.
She said: "When you're singing, you're telling a story. I think back in my own life to things that happen, then I put the emotion into the song. I can't sing a song if I don't feel it."
Susan remains stubbornly single and said: "I'm happier now. I'm not so lonely. I was lonely before because I was missing the people close to me.
"So am I still looking for someone to watch over me? Just Simon Cowell. He's lovely. Marry me!"
Susan will use a small break in the musical's tour to perform for the Queen after Buckingham Palace asked her to take centre stage at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in May. She will be the headline act at the World Comes To Windsor bash, joined by Katherine Jenkins, Il Divo and Michael Bublé as part of a gala concert at Windsor Castle.
Meanwhile I Dreamed A Dream is already being tipped for a West End run in London and on New York's Broadway.
But Susan said: "Let's see what the public think of it first. It'll only go around the world if they like it."
She added: "This will be a gentle taster to a tour. I've had offers and people saying to me, 'When are you going to do a concert?' I'll see how I go with this first."
I Dreamed A Dream opens at Newcastle's Theatre Royal on March 23. For more info and dates, visit susanboylemusical.com.
