United Kingdom, Sept. 6 -- Simon Cowell has been hailed as nothing like his "TV's Mr Nasty" persona.

The music mogul, 65, built the reputation with his blunt feedback to acts on shows including The X Factor, but fans who met him by chance in Los Angeles has now praised him for being "kind" and "genuine".

Fan John Jilwan wrote on Q A site Quora: "I ran into him by chance once in Los Angeles. He's nothing like how he appears on television. In fact, he was one of the kindest, most genuine people I've stumbled upon. While our conversation wasn't long, he was very friendly and seemed very down to earth and upbeat." John added that Simon was "a really good guy" and "not at all like the overly critical jerk he appears to be on television."

An...