SUSAN BOYLE today hit back at comedian Ricky Gervais for calling her a “mong.”
The star branded the outspoken comedian a “wasted talent”, claiming that he has a “problem”.
She said in a newspaper interview: “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.”
Last year, the Office star said that Susan looked liked a “mong” on his stand-up comedy show Science, on Channel 4.
His use of the word, a slang term for people with Down’s Syndrome, caused huge offence.
He said about Susan on the show: “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***ing mong. There is no better word to describe Susan Boyle.
“When she first came on the telly, I went, “Is that a mong?”
Several complaints were made about the comment to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom but Gervais was cleared of breaching guidelines in January.
But speaking at rehearsals of her musical I Dreamed a Dream in Glasgow last week, Susan said she has had the last laugh, having had all three of her albums go straight to number one in the UK charts.
“I’ve had a lot of insults. Do you know what I do? I just ignore them. I just get on with my life. Those who have something to say usually have nothing to do.”
Speaking about her upcoming musical, SuBo admitted that she finds watching some scenes difficult as they refer to the moments where her parents were told that she suffered from oxygen deprivation during the birth.
School jibes
She 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.’
“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 musical is being tipped to be run in London’s West End and could even end up 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.”
Susan has previously said she has long suffered similar jibes since her school days when she was called “Simple Susan” by her classmates.
The 50-year-old was deprived of oxygen at birth which led to learning difficulties for the star.
But the bullying did not stop when Susan left school as she still suffers from malicious comments from fellow celebrities.
In 2009, after Susan shot to fame after her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, Sharon Osbourne made several nasty comments about the star.
Speaking on a US radio show, Sharon said SuBo looked like a “hairy a*****e”, and said that God had hit her with a f***ing ugly stick.”
Even Elton John made comments about Susan mental capabilities when he told a magazine: “Susan Boyle was an endearing phenomenon but I fear she might not understand the rigours of showbusiness.”
“These are both major developments and will help ensure we are able to meet the ever-increasing demands we face.
“Prevention itself is also at the heart of our work and we have been delighted with the success of our free education programme which reached more than 60% of primary schools and over 160,000 children in 2011.
“It is vital that we continue to encourage children to treat animals with the care and respect they deserve and we are confident we’ll see the benefits in the years to come.
“We will continue to meet the challenges 2012 brings and with the support of the Scottish public we will do all we can for every abused, abandoned, sick and injured animals in need of our help.”
