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Simon Cowell is well aware that he gained a reputation for harsh, cutting criticism as a judge on “American Idol.” The record exec and TV personality apologized for some of his comments on the show in a new interview with The New York Times‘ podcast The Interview.

“I did realize I’d probably gone too far,” Cowell said. “I didn’t particularly like audition days, because they’re long and boring. I would get fed up. And of course, out of a hundred nice comments, what are they going to use? They’re always going to use me in a bad mood. I got that. What can I say? I’m sorry.”

When asked to identify what specifically he was apologizing for, Cowell responded with, “Well, just being a dick.”

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“I wasn’t trying to be a dick on purpose,” Cowell said. “All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label. So when all these people were coming in and they couldn’t sing, we would say after 10 seconds, ‘You can’t sing.’ Not, ‘You’re going to be brilliant.’”

Alongside Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, Cowell was one of the original judges on “American Idol,” panelling the first seasons of the singing competition series from 2002 to 2010. Prior to that, he was an original judge on “Pop Idol,” the British series that inspired “American Idol.” As the U.S. series grew into a pop culture juggernaut in the aughts, Cowell became a pop culture fixture for cutting down celebrity hopefuls with his grouchy zingers, the most brutal of which finding a robust life online in the early ages of video sharing on the internet.

“I’m not proud of it, let’s put it that way,” Cowell continued. “When I hear about these clips, I’m like, ‘Oh, God.’ But then again, the upside is that it made the shows really popular worldwide.”

Cowell is currently making rounds to promote his Netflix series “Simon Cowell: The Next Act,” which will follow the exec as he mounts the search to assemble a new boy band. The show premieres on Dec. 10.