As Cheryl Tweedy celebrates her 42nd birthday today (June 30), she has been involved in some huge feuds over the years.
It’s been a rough lot of months for Cheryl. In October 2024, her ex and father of her son, Bear, Liam Payne, died after falling from the third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina. At the time, Cheryl penned a heartfelt tribute for Liam following the gut-wrenching loss. Over recent months, she has also faced a stalker hell after a man turned up at her home while she was with her son.
But over the years, Cheryl has had her fair share of feuds. And some of them are quite infamous. So, let’s remind ourselves of the biggest feuds Cheryl has been a part of since her career kicked off way back in 2002.
Simon Cowell
While Cheryl and Simon may be on decent terms now, there have been quite a few hiccups on the way.
They first faced feud rumours when they brought The X Factor to America. It was reported that Cheryl was sacked due to her accent, as the US audiences couldn’t understand it. And so she was replaced with Nicole Scherzinger.
In her autobiography, Cheryl then made her feelings very clear on the situation. She penned: “[bleep] you and Britain’s Got Talent. [Bleep] the orange and purple outfit and [bleep] the big hair and the UK X Factor. [Bleep] you all. I hate you. I understand you’re a businessman and what I have learned from this is that business means more to you than friendship.”
However, the pair put their differences aside, and three years later Cheryl returned to the UK X Factor. But things took another turn when Simon claimed she had “put on a bit of weight” after her sacking.
She was quick to respond at a press conference. She said: “I heard this rumour and I think a gentleman should never speak about a woman’s age or weight. But that’s only if you’re educated on how to treat a woman.
“So, unlucky for him. And who listens to Simon Cowell these days anyway? Does anybody? I don’t listen to him anymore.”
However, it was reported that Simon comforted Cheryl after Liam’s passing, so the pair appear to be friendly now!
Sarah Harding
For years before fellow Girls Aloud member Sarah Harding’s death, there were rumours of a rift between her and Cheryl.
Fans picked up on the tensions when Sarah made a sly comment about the X Factor, as though she didn’t know what it was – despite Cheryl being a judge. Then, when Sarah appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Cheryl didn’t publicly wish her luck.
While neither have outright confirmed a feud, Sarah did speak about the rumours during her Big Brother stint.
Speaking to fellow housemate Jemma Lucy, Sarah was asked if she and Cheryl really fell out.
She replied: “It’s not for me to say. I don’t really like talking about the other girls if it’s a personal thing. We were like sisters. So, of course it was never going to be plain-sailing the whole time. Being around girls all the time – it’s difficult.”
However, things between the pair seemed to fix themselves as Cheryl was one of the first people to publicly support Sarah when she revealed her cancer diagnosis. And the girls seemed like great friends again until Sarah’s heartbreaking death.
Lily Allen and Cheryl feud
The feud between Cheryl and Lily Allen goes way back to 2006 when a misunderstanding led to some awkward comments.
It all began when Lily released a song named Cheryl Tweedy. In the song Lily sang: “I wish I looked just like Cheryl Tweedy.” Initially, Cheryl took it as a compliment. She responded to the track: “I’m really flattered Lily’s written a song about me. But I don’t know why she sings about wanting to be as pretty as me, she looks stunning.”
However, it seemed Cheryl got the wrong end of the stick, and Lily meant it as a negative. She hit back: “It’s tongue and cheek, meant to be ironic. I don’t have anything against her as a human being but I think the portrayal of her being the right thing for kids to look up to is wrong. Nobody really wants to look like Cheryl, they just think they do.”
That wasn’t the end of things, as during a chat with Gordon Ramsey, Cheryl hit back: “Because everyone wants to look like her”. And Gordon replied: “Chick with a [bleep].” When he asked Cheryl what she thought, she repeated that and laughed.
Lily then wrote a letter which implied Cheryl used “auto-tune” when singing her songs. But it seems the years have made the women put their differences aside. In 2014, Lily admitted she regretted their feud, and a year later they were spotted hanging out.
Charlotte Church and Cheryl infamous feud
Way back in 2005, Charlotte Church was accused of copying a Girls Aloud song. But she hit back, claiming the women “wouldn’t be able” to sing her songs. And went on to call Cheryl “bitter”.
The rows between them went on, with Charlotte branding the group as “five dogs without balls” and claiming Cheryl had “no backbone” for taking her ex-husband, Ashley Cole, back.
However, Cheryl refused to remain silent and hit back, calling Charlotte: “a nasty little piece of work with a fat head”. She also seemingly fat-shamed Charlotte. When speaking about Charlotte’s Walker’s TV advert, Cheryl said: “The one where she is stuffing her face? I think that’s very appropriate.”
But in 2013, Charlotte was asked about Cheryl and she insisted Cheryl was “really good”. So perhaps they have made up privately..
Louis Walsh
Just like Simon, Louis and Cheryl appeared on the X Factor together. And he was even Girls Aloud’s manager for a time.
Years later, Louis admitted that working with Cheryl “was never great”. And went on to slam her career. He explained: “She won a competition, married a footballer and now she is in a hair advert. Nadine Coyle was the voice of Girls Aloud. Cheryl made herself the face and best of luck to her.”
Then in 2016, Louis said Nicole Scherzinger was the best judge of the talent show. And Liam Payne, who was with Cheryl at the time, clapped back.
He said: “Shut the [bleep] up for once.”
Nadine Coyle feud with Cheryl
While they may have been in Girls Aloud together, it appeared there was no love lost between Cheryl and Nadine when the band broke off.
In 2018, Nadine appeared on Celebrity Juice and explained they were never friends. However, it doesn’t appear she and Cheryl actually had a full feud. She said: “There was no falling out. There was just no friendship to begin with.”
However, when the band recently went on tour again, Nadine and Cheryl seemed friendly with each other, so it’s safe to assume a friendship has been built over the years.
Alan Sugar
While Cheryl and Alan Sugar never had a full blown feud, the pair did not see eye-to-eye after he skinny shamed her.
Cheryl appeared on the celeb version of The Apprentice, and attended his 60th birthday bash. But in 2015, Alan tweeted: “Catching up on X-Factor. Cheryl is now too thin.”
Cheryl hit back, responding: “I have got nothing to say to stupidity. How do you answer stupidity? With intelligence? If I cared I would be bothered.”
Munroe Bergdorf
In 2017, Munroe Bergdorf was hired as the first transgender model in L’Oreal’s diversity campaign. However, she was fired for comments she made about white supremacy following events in Charlottesville, USA.
But when she appeared on Victoria Derbyshire’s show, she mentioned how Cheryl was part of the campaign, despite punching a black woman in the face, for which Cheryl was acquitted.
Cheryl’s management hit back: “More than 14 years ago Cheryl was unanimously acquitted of a charge of racially aggravated assault. She is disappointed to find her name involved in Munroe Bergdorf’s media interview.”
Read more: Eye-popping fortune Liam Payne left after dying without a will as beneficiary ‘revealed’
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