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"Britney Spears, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid walked away from the judges&amp;apos; table after a man dressed in drag auditioned for The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina July 9 -- a smart decision on their part, according to the trio.\r\n&amp;quot;It was just horrible,&amp;quot; Reid, 56, said of the performance backstage. &amp;quot;The truth is he was horrific. We just couldn&amp;apos;t take it anymore. But Simon [Cowell, 52] has a little more tolerance and more patience than we do.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThough Spears, 30, was the first to walk away, the &amp;quot;I Wanna Go&amp;quot; singer was merely heeding Lovato&amp;apos;s instruction. &amp;quot;I was following her. I was taking her lead,&amp;quot; the Louisiana native explained. &amp;quot;She was like, &amp;apos;Let&amp;apos;s go!&amp;apos; And I was like, &amp;apos;Okay.&amp;apos; It was our dinner break, anyway.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nPrior to leaving the stage, Spears looked visibly bothered as the male contestant, wearing cat glasses and a bedazzled jean jacket, struggled to sing her 1999 pop classic &amp;quot;(You Drive Me) Crazy.&amp;quot; She eventually returned to the stage, sans Lovato and Reid, and offered a quick critique. &amp;quot;I really respect the tribute. It was really nice, but I just don&amp;apos;t feel like it&amp;apos;s for X Factor,&amp;quot; she told him. &amp;quot;Sorry, sweetie.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAccording to Lovato, 19, the X Factor hopeful&amp;apos;s performance -- and his bizarre behavior -- was too painful to watch. &amp;quot;I was really uncomfortable because I was like, &amp;apos;Oh my gosh, he&amp;apos;s on the floor crying because he thinks he&amp;apos;s done such a good job.&amp;apos; I felt so bad,&amp;quot; she said. &amp;quot;I laughed at first, but then I felt bad.&amp;quot;\r\n&amp;quot;I usually can&amp;apos;t look when they&amp;apos;re bad,&amp;quot; Spears added.\r\nThe X Factor will premiere September 12 on FOX."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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