Callous Cowell

You can always tell when Simon Cowell is lying - his face shrinks.

Music mogul Simon Cowell has acted quickly to defend himself against reports he rolled his eyes during an American Idol contestant's tribute to the students of Virginia Tech University on the TV talent show last night.

Internet sites went crazy after the incident with critics accusing judge Cowell of being insensitive to singer Chris Robinson's message to friends caught up in the aftermath of Monday's campus massacre.

TV cameras captured Cowell making a sarcastic gesture as Robinson said, "My hearts and prayers go out to Virginia Tech. I have a lot of friends over there... Be strong."

But he insists he wasn't listening to what Robinson was saying and was caught up in conversation with fellow judge Paula Abdul. "If you'd ever spoken to Paula you'd know exactly why I was rolling my eyes."