From an article today about Brittney Spears leaving X-Factor:

....But in the end, Simon is the one who aggressively courted Britney, threw a bunch of money at her, and (like so many other reality TV producers who foolishly believe that stunt-casting a bunch of celebrities like Howard Stern, Steven Tyler, or Nicki Minaj will generate instant ratings) assumed that Britney's marquee name alone would be enough to make millions of viewers tune in--whether or not she was qualified for the gig