larger view

Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan wants people to lay off Susan Boyle.

According to British reports, the 48-year-old Scottish singing sensation -- who won over millions with a YouTube performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables and advanced to the finals last weekend with her rendition of "Memory" from Cats -- cussed out two strangers in the lobby of the Wembley Plaza Hotel in North London on Wednesday.

When police intervened, she broke down in tears and stormed off. (A rep for Boyle tells London's The Times that the incident was caused by a pesky reporter. "A journalist from a tabloid paper provoked her, the police just happened to be at the hotel and escorted said journalist out after making sure Susan was OK," the spokesperson told the paper.)


It wasn't her only outburst this week: Boyle also reportedly cussed at a television set in the hotel bar Tuesday after she heard judge Morgan praise rival singer Shaheen Jafargholi, 12, on Britain's Got Talent. (Her rep denies the incident.)


On CBS' The Early Show Thursday, Morgan said he's "feeling more supportive" of Boyle "today than I was before, because I feel really sorry for Susan.

"From what I hear," he told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "she's been in tears the last two days. She even threatened to leave the show yesterday at one stage, because of the sheer amount of pressure on her.


"And you have to remember with Susan, she's a 48-year-old lady from a tiny village in Scotland who has never been exposed to anything like this kind of attention. And I think she's really feeling the heat.

"The hotel she's in is crawling in tourists, crawling in the media. I think maybe she overreacted. I don't know what happened. She denies, apparently, some of the things that have been reported.


"But either way, I know she's feeling a lot of pressure, and I think that most people watching this show and hearing about this will feel natural sympathy toward her. And I just hope it all calms down for the final. Because, on Saturday, she sings for the competition."