Will Young describes the painful process of speaking to Simon Cowell as being like conversing with an anti-gay Catholic

Cowell has branded the singer “obnoxious” in the past

Simon Cowell isn’t someone known for his outlandish displays of affection, social graces and endless compassion.

But the X Factor boss might not be expecting quite the description his former mentee Will Young has just given him.

The Pop Idol winner, who shot to fame after being voted top of the talent show in 2002, said that speaking to Cowell now “would be like speaking to a devout Catholic or something, someone anti-gay marriage and anti-contraception”.

Young, who Cowell has branded “obnoxious” in the past, said he thought the mogul was a bully. He also questioned his motives behind keeping shows like The X Factor going on for such a long time.

Simon Cowell was hypnotised by a dog at the Britain's Got Talent auditions in Manchester (Getty Images)

“What’s it all for? How much is too much? What’s the drive?” he wanted to ask him.

“I don’t like bullies, and I don’t know if there’s a nurturing side to his shows,” he told The Huffington Post UK. “It always comes from the top.

“There definitely wasn’t enough pastoral care, and I can’t bear seeing people that aren’t looked after.

“I didn’t like it at school, and with my friends. I’ve never liked it, and that’s my question for him.”

Bullying is a subject of upmost importance to Young. He previously called on schools to teach special lessons to tackle the growing problem of homophobic abuse in education.

“Secondary school heads don’t see it as being homophobic and many say it happens so often ‘how are we going to tackle it?’ And a lot of the time they see it as just kids being kids,” he said.