Simon Cowell said Katie Piper is ‘one of the most special people’ he has ever met as they attended a charity song concert.
The music mogul, 65, attended the Katie Piper Foundation’s third annual Christmas concert at St Peter’s Church in London on Wednesday with his wife Lauren Silverman and son Eric.
Simon – who has been a patron of the charity for 15 years – spoke about his 16-year friendship with Katie when he gave a speech that evening, praising her tireless work to help other burn survivors.
“You are the true definition of what I call strength, being a survivor in so many ways and real, real, true inspiration,” he said.
At the end of his speech, Simon made a moving comment about his son Eric’s future involvement with the charity.
Simon shared his desire to pass the baton to Eric, 10, saying: ‘I’m honored to be a friend. I will always be here with you, with Lauren, and in the years to come with Eric. [to Eric] Now to you!’
Simon Cowell said Katie Piper is ‘one of the most special people’ he has ever met as they attended a charity song concert in London on Wednesday
Simon shared his desire to pass the baton to Eric, 10, saying: ‘I’m honored to be a friend. I will always be here with you, with Lauren, and in the years to come with Eric. [to Eric] Now to you!’ (Simon and Eric pictured in September)
Simon told Katie in his speech: ‘You are honestly one of the most special people I have ever met because I want to take you back in time sixteen years.
’16 years ago I saw the documentary and I saw someone in enormous pain. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.
‘You bring those two elements together, and how do you actually get out of bed in the morning? And she got through it.
“I’m sorry to have to speak for you, but we talked about it. It’s a painful process, both mentally and physically, to go through the way she got through it.”
He continued: “I joke about the fact that I saw the documentary and offered Katie a job but she turned me down. She said no, I want to start this charity.
‘I saw you [to Katie] give so much of yourself to so many people over the years in such a spectacularly extraordinary way.
“You have always been there for me as a friend, and I am sure that for so many people here as a friend, you are the true definition of what I call strength, being a survivor in so many.”
The Christmas carol concert featured a special performance by Britain’s Got Talent 2024 finalist Innocent Masuku and burn survivor Mobi1, as well as readings by Simon’s wife Lauren, Katie Piper and daughters and Katie Brindle.
The 65-year-old music mogul attended the Katie Piper Foundation’s third annual Christmas carol concert at St. Peter’s Church in London on Wednesday with his wife Lauren Silverman and son Eric.
Simon – who has been a patron of the charity for 15 years – spoke about his 16-year friendship with Katie when he gave a speech that evening, praising her tireless work to help other burn survivors.
“You are the true definition of what I call strength, being a survivor in so many ways and real, real, true inspiration,” Simon said of Katie
Presenter Katie called out a mean troll on Instagram in October after she was targeted for her appearance and was cruelly told to ‘jump out the window’ to end her suffering.
The Loose Women star, 41, suffered facial burns and blindness in one eye after she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and accomplice Stefan Sylvestre in 2008.
Sharing a snippet of the comment, Katie admitted that while she doesn’t normally draw attention to cruel messages, this one was “beyond anything” she could handle and added to the “heavy burden” she was already carrying.
It started when the follower asked, “Where’s your nose?” to which the broadcaster replied: ‘Being pulled into my favorite by thick scar tissue is incredibly painful.’
They then said, ‘Yes, it’s cool, but my nose is normal. I wish you to stop suffering as soon as possible.
“I advise you to go out of the window, preferably on the 10th-11th floor, maybe this will ease your suffering” – followed by laughing emojis.”
Katie called out a vile troll on Instagram in October after she was targeted for her appearance and cruelly told to ‘jump out the window’ to end her suffering
Sharing a snippet of the comment, Katie admitted that while she doesn’t normally draw attention to cruel messages, this one was “beyond anything” she could handle and added to the “heavy burden” she was already carrying.
Katie wrote: ‘After finishing my run this morning and already feeling exhausted from my bad time, I opened my phone to this’
Katie wrote: ‘After finishing my run this morning I was already feeling exhausted from my bad time and opened my phone to this. I can handle most things, but sometimes it adds to the already heavy burden you carry.
“You never know how people feel, what they are going through, what their days are like and even if you do, the only person we are judging for this comment is you.
‘Normally I wouldn’t call this so personal, but this is beyond even me. This behavior must always be exposed, people must do better.’
“This is not okay, and it will never be okay. If you can write something negative online and hit ‘post’, you are a special person.