London, Nov 10 Music mogul Simon Cowell has claimed that he has become "public enemy No 1" after he saved twins John and Edward from being axed from the X Factor show.

Cowell, 50, had defended the controversial duo known as Jedward, and as a record 16.6million watched, Welsh singer Lucie Jones got the chop on November 8.

A massive 3,000 people complained to ITV, with thousands of fans blasting the "outrageous" decision, and pledging to boycott the show, and a staggering 11,000 joined a Facebook group called Boycott The X Factor.

The volume of angry comments on the show's website was so great that bosses were forced to suspend the forum, and Cowell was on November 9 left reeling by the row.

"I'm going to get a lot of flak for my decision. I'll be public enemy No 1," the Sun quoted him as saying.

"People always like to disagree with me but I know this will be more controversial than usual.

"There will be people who are Lucie fans and think she should have been given a chance," he stated.

Some viewers have claimed he only saved the twins to make the show more entertaining.

"There are a number of complaints which we're looking into," an Ofcom spokesman stated. (ANI)