AceShowbiz - Singer Annie Lennox is fuming with Simon Cowell for criticizing Elton John over the high costs of his private performances, insisting the fees are justified because the "Rocket Man" does so much for charity.

Elton sparked a war of words with the music mogul in 2010 when he branded Cowell's reality TV competitions "boring" and "brain-crippling", claiming he treats contestants on his shows like "products".

Cowell fired back and took aim at Elton for charging huge sums of money for concerts, claiming the rocker should be using his cash to invest in budding talent. He said, "This is somebody who charges what, a million dollars a private gig? Two million dollars, you know? I don't know whether he's concerned about himself, maybe he is."

"But they always bleat on that we're not giving other people a chance. And I always want to say to them, 'I tell you what, you just made a million dollars off your last private gig. Go and give it to a bunch of young musicians you care about, put them in the studio. Go and nurture them. Go and spend some time looking after them. Then I'll buy your argument.' "

But Cowell's rant has infuriated Lennox, because her close pal Elton dedicates so much of his time to raising funds for his AIDS awareness charity. She tells Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper, "Elton John's foundation is the third top HIV/AIDS organization in the world. It's ridiculous what was said. He [Cowell] obviously has no idea what Elton really does, none."