Cowell denies "obscene gesture"

Pop Idol supremo Simon Cowell has denied making an "obscene gesture" on national TV.

15:22 25 March 2004

Pop Idol supremo Simon Cowell has denied making an "obscene gesture" on national TV.

The sharp tongued critic was filming "American Idol" at the time and put his middle finger to the side of his face.

Fellow judge Paula Abdul was sitting beside him during Tuesday's broadcast.

"I certainly would never make a gesture like that toward Paula or on national television," Cowell said.

"Sometimes I lean on my index finger. Sometimes a different finger. Sometimes two at the same time, or, God help me, even the whole hand. I never even thought about it until now."

A spokesman for Fox Broadcasting commented that censors saw nothing wrong with Cowell's hand position.

"Our standards and practices people looked at it and felt it was a completely benign body posture," the spokesman said. "It wasn't a gesture."

The hullabaloo about the "gesture" began when internet columnist Matt Drudge circulated pictures of Cowell with his middle finger to his face online.

Additionally the Federal Communications Commission "received a few complaints" about the incident, reports Reuters

Live broadcasts in the US are still mistrusted after a "wardrobe malfunction" saw Janet Jackson expose a nipple during prime-time television. As a result the Oscars were broadcast with a time delay.