British pop star Cheryl Cole has been dropped as a judge on the American version of Simon Cowell's singing competition The X Factor. According to reports from TMZ and Us Weekly, Cole will be replaced as a judge by Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger when the show debuts on Fox in the fall. Scherzinger had been tapped originally to co-host the show.

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TMZ's sources claim that Cole was dropped in part because the show's producers were concerned that her Northern English accent would be incomprehensible to American audiences. Cole, who is a judge on the British version of the show, is regularly mocked in the U.K. media – and by Cowell himself – for her thick "Geordie" accent.

As of yet, no one directly involved with the show has officially announced Cole's departure or Scherzinger's shift to judge status.

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