Simon Cowell may have moved on from 'American Idol' to 'X Factor,' but that won't stop 'Idol' execs from having a little fun at the acid-tongued Brit's expense.

TMZ reports that Cowell remains the punchline of many inside jokes on the 'Idol' set. Remember when Cowell went on record to say that anything less than 20 million viewers for 'X Factor' would be considered a disappointing failure? Well, the show fell well short of that expectation and Cowell was left with a lil' egg on his face for opening his mouth and making those types of predictions.

His competitors haven't forgotten that famous comment and now the big joke at 'Idol,' which kicks off Season 11 this evening (Jan. 18), is that execs are saying they will be "devastated" if the season premiere doesn't pull in 20 million viewers. Their devastation isn't serious, though. They are just making fun of Cowell's exaggerated expectations of his show. However, 'Idol' has reached 20 million viewers more than once, so there is a chance that the "devastation" could be staved off.

This isn't the first time the folks over at 'American Idol' have taken shots at Simon Cowell and his 'X Factor' team either. 'Idol' execs recently dissed 'X Factor' for failing to produce superstars that are of equal caliber as past 'Idol' contestants like Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson (calling out Leona Lewis as a particular example).

Speaking of Kelly Clarkson, 'AI' peeps said they were flattered that the former 'Idol' winner accepted a mentor role on singing competition 'The Voice,' with Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell saying, "Other shows want to use our stars for their shows. We’re not hiring a lot of people from ‘The Voice’ to be on our show." We can hardly keep up with all of this drama!

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