AMERICA'S GOT TALENT judge Piers Morgan has branded opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa a "bitter old crone" for criticising Susan Boyle.
The legendary soprano sparked a furore when she suggested the I Dreamed A Dream hitmaker's fame will be fleeting, insisting it was an "insult" to expect her to discuss the Scottish star.
She also blasted Katherine Jenkins, implying she is not a "serious classical singer".
But Morgan - who is also a judge on Britain's Got Talent, the show which propelled Boyle to fame - has slammed Dame Kiri for her controversial comments.
In his column for Britain's Live magazine, he writes: "Dear oh Dear. Just like Elaine Paige, who recently branded Susan a 'virus', Dame Kiri appears to have morphed from a nice, jolly grande dame into a quite ghastly, jealous and bitter old crone.
"I'm sure that their joint fury has nothing to do with Susan's phenomenal global success, or Katherine's radiant beauty - two things that neither Ms Paige nor Dame Kiri have ever had to worry about."