He has modelled himself on Simon Cowell, becoming a hate figure for fans of the aspiring pop stars on Spain’s version of Fame Academy. But Risto Mejide managed to make even viewers accustomed to his withering comments gasp with his latest tirade against the fresh-faced youngsters who appear on the popular show Operación Triunfo.

Patty, a 26-year-old nurse with a promising voice, was made to choose between attending her grandmother’s funeral and remaining at the talent academy. She chose the former, explaining: “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Mejide did not agree, challenging the remaining contestants to leave if they would not commit themselves to remain at the academy no matter what the circumstances.

“I wonder if there is anyone else who wants to leave the academy, whether anyone has any errands to run?” he said, to boos from the audience, who had seen the contestant break down in tears upon learning of her grandmother’s death. “Perhaps someone has left their car parked outside illegally, or their budgie has died, a dog, their grandparent or whatever?”

The comments caused a great deal of consternation in Spain, where the idea of missing a grandmother’s funeral was seen as particularly shocking. “The management of Telecinco and the contest are under an obligation to fire Risto,” said Periodista Digital, an online magazine, which described the scene as a “macabre humiliation”.

Telecinco sought to distance itself from Mejide’s comments. “We never apply censorship,” it said. “However, that does not mean that we are always in agreement with what is said, and in this case the opinions were Risto’s.”

Risto, as the 34-year-old Mejide is universally known, has refused to speak to the Spanish media about his comments, with his agent saying that he is unreachable on a long trip. But on his personal blog, he refused to retract his comments or apologise.

He wrote: “With regards to the girl who quit the show (I’m sorry if I’ve already forgotten her name), I’ll respect her decision but it seems to me that a real artist, someone who wants to dedicate themselves professionally to the music industry, should come on to stage smiling even if her child, father or entire family has died.”

It was not Risto’s only outrage during the show. He told the audience’s favourite that he looked like an inflatable doll on stage, and said to another aspiring starlet: “There is no sound capable of describing your performance tonight. If there is, I assure you it is not a sound that comes out of the mouth.”

Times Recommends

• No cause for celebration in crushed Sarajevo
• Jazz funeral for the final victims of Katrina
• French fined for 'insulting' civil servants