As his fellow Brits would say, it was "handbags" time on 'The X Factor' last night as Simon Cowell lost his temper with his fellow judges.

Teenage singer Tiah Tolliver split the judging panel straight down the middle, with Cowell -- "I'm saying 'yes' a hundred percent" -- and L.A. Reid voting to put her through to the next round, and the female judges voting to send her home.

When Nicole Scherzinger said "I'll have to pass," the crowd started booing, and an irritated Cowell exclaimed "Oh, for god's sake!"

Paula Abdul's decision to say no was greeted with Cowell hurling a piece of paper to the floor and turning away in disgust.

Newly appointed judge Nicole Scherzinger made her debut at 'The X Factor' auditions in Newark, New Jersey. And, according to Simon Cowell, "she was terrific."

It seems that Scherzinger has been hired to be the mean judge: Cowell introduced her to the crowd as "our own answer to Cruella de Vil," the villainous puppy-skinner from '101 Dalmatians.'

Scherzinger sidestepped questions about the controversy surrounding the exit of former judge Cheryl Cole from the show, telling 'The Daily Mirror' that "I haven't spoken to Cheryl but she is a lovely, talented, sweet girl. ... I don't know how it went down."

She added that "I found out at the same time as everyone else. I just turned up for work and I'm happy to be here. I just hope she has made the right decisions for her."