Former British 'Pop Idol' judge Pete Waterman blasts show

A former judge from Britain's "Pop Idol" talent competition has denounced the popular TV show as "fake."

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"For me, after 'Pop Idol 2' finished, that was it," judge Pete Waterman told New magazine. "It's just television -- it's not about music."

Waterman also said the show should be canceled for its treatment of contestant Michelle McManus, the Sun reported Sunday.

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"I think what we did to Michelle was appalling," he said. "We should have been taken off the air.

"She didn't have a great voice and she was grossly overweight," he said. "But we made her believe that she was talented enough to win, when she never was. That makes us guilty of lying to the public."