Reality TV's most cutthroat judges

Simon Cowell has always embraced his "tough guy" persona on competition shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent, regardless of fan perception. Luckily for the producers of the show, he's never cared. 

"I knew we had to get Simon Cowell, as he was the star of the show, but we needed something different in the U.S.," Mike Darnell, a Fox executive, revealed in 2022. "The mean judge, the frank judge. In all the other shows before him, everyone was polite and nice, and I knew that was going to be [his] thing. Simon, to his credit, was willing to do anything."

Gordon Ramsay might let you cook for him, but you make sure it's good. The famous chef is used to giving harsh feedback to contestants on his cooking shows, Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, and MasterChef US. 

Abby Lee Miller definitely made her students and parents cry on Liftime's Dance Moms, but Coach D from Bring It! was just as intense. Despite paying their dues, Dianna's dancers had to "make cuts" week after week to perform. As you can imagine, there were tears, screaming matches, and many more explosive moments.

Piers Morgan may not be everybody's favorite reality television personality, but he knows how to turn it up on series like America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent.

Before sitting in the Oval Office, Donald Trump sat at the head of the table in The Apprentice's boardroom, slinging insults and stirring up chaos among his cast of celebrity contestants. 

Like his father, Donald Trump Jr knew how to turn it up for the cameras during The Apprentice's run on NBC. In addition to his unforgiving critiques, Don Jr. got things going during intense moments between stars like Kenya Moore and Vivica A. Fox. 

Despite putting their contestants through provocative challenges on America's Next Top Model, Janice Dickison always found a way to roast the cast brashly during the judging ceremonies.

Come on — even if you haven't seen this show, you know about Judge Judy. She's a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is judge who was on television from 1996 to 2021. She filmed 6,280 episodes during that time, bringing in millions of dollars. 

Although he's not a judge, TJ Lavin doesn't hold back against his contestants on the popular series The Challenge. He's called players out, including big dogs like Johnny Bananas and Chris "CT" Tamburello, since taking over the show in 2005 and continues to raise the bar season after season. The stakes should reach an all-time high during its upcoming 40th season, which will air on MTV in the future.

Some fans love Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off, but we think he's been doing way too much lately — especially when he hovers over contestants, giving them the stare-down during tense competitions.

Nigel Lythgoe created and starred in Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. The only problem was that he tried portraying a character similar to that of Simon Cowell on American Idol, which didn't work for him. Perhaps that's why he departed the judge's table after 2019.

Miss J wasn't as problematic as their costar, Janice, on ANTM, but that doesn't mean they weren't messy here and there. During the show's earlier cycles, they also provided unfiltered feedback about the contestant's walks, hair, and looks. 

Tyra Banks has been under much scrutiny recently as fans of her popular competition series, America's Next Top Model, revisit the show on streaming platforms. They've continued to hold her accountable regarding specific challenges, problematic language, and much more during the program's 24-season run.

Naomi Campbell is another brutal judge who appeared on shows like Making the Cut and The Face. During her time on the latter, she clashed with one of the other coaches (model and TV personality Nicole Trunfio) after she likened herself to the legend. "Don't compare yourself to me — ever," Naomi said. "You are not on my level, Nicole. You never will be on my level. Do not compare yourself to me." And that's all she wrote.  

If you're hoping to cook for Monicna during the upcoming seasons of MasterChef, you had better come correct because she'll get you together if it's not up to par.

After a quick look back at his MTV show, Making The Band, Diddy has always been a controversial reality television star, and he continued that persona on the Fox competition series The Four in 2018.  

When you own several businesses like Mark Cuban, sometimes you have to play hardball. However, he can go too far on the NBC series Shark Tank, leaving excellent pitches on the floor because he refused to negotiate with the sellers.

Bruno Tonioli never held back on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. Even if he meant well sometimes, his comments got him into trouble with some of the fans, other judges, and viewers. 

When you're a fashion maven like Michael Kors, you get to say whatever you want on Bravo's Project Runway — including telling a contestant their creation looked like "toilet paper caught in a windstorm." 

This list includes quite a combination of ruthless chef judges; however, Tom Colicchio is in a league of his own. He's gone toe-to-toe with contestants on Bravo's Top Chef since its beginning in 2006.