Sanjaya's hairstylist can relax—American Idol has bigger controversies to deal with now.

Simon Cowell is calling Internet-fueled criticism that he rolled his eyes while contestant Chris Richardson offered post-performance well wishes for the families and victims of the Virginia Tech massacre on Idol Tuesday night "rubbish." Instead, Cowell tells Idol cohort and E! News anchor Ryan Seacrest that the perceived gesture was the result of shoddy acoustics, not callousness in the face of a national tragedy.

While speaking with Seacrest on the latter's Los Angeles radio show Wednesday morning, Cowell said his eye-rolling was directed at Richardson's "ridiculous" explanation that his nasally rendition of Rascal Flatts' "Mayberry" was intentional, a defense that came in the wake of Cowell slamming the finalist's singing style.

However, unbeknownst to Cowell, by the time Fox's ever-ready cameras panned back to the acerbic judge's dismissive reaction, Richardson was already proffering his plea to the country to pray for the school in its prayers, making it appear, at least to some viewers, as though the Brit was shrugging off Richardson's appeal.

"The truth was I switched off at that point," Cowell said. "Half the time I can't hear what they're saying. My reaction was to what he had said previously, that singing nasally is a form of singing...My eye-rolling was what I was saying to Paula." (Listen to the MP3 file of Cowell's full comments to Seacrest.)

As for Richardson's Virginia Tech sentiments, Cowell said it was absolutely appropriate.

"I think Chris was right to have said what he said because he's from that neck of the woods."

Cowell, who described it as "a very, very sensitive subject," went on to say that he wasn't sure he even wanted to speak out about the brewing controversy as "a lot of these things escalate because of the publicity they generate."

As a result, he said he likely would not offer any subsequent mea culpas on tonight's results show, but he said he wanted to speak out now "in respect to the families involved."

"I don't like when these fake rumors start," he said. "We wanted to set the right tone on the show last night and then something like this happens and it just starts fanning the flames. It's not right."

The "fake rumors" first got traction on the Idol message boards, but now more fans appear to be rallying to Cowell's corner.

In posting on MyIdol.com over what exactly Cowell was reacting to, KimberGal wrote: "Whatever he was rolling his eyes at and whatever anyone may think of Simon it is COMPLETELY LUDICROUS to believe that he would be rolling his eyes at the VT ordeal."

Dizzydiva, meanwhile, said that she "missed Simon rolling his eyes because I was so busy rolling my own eyes at the same time. P.S. I was not rolling my eyes about a tragedy."

While elzb didn't quite buy Cowell's explanation that he was rolling his eyes at Richardson's comeback, the poster nonetheless didn't think the gesture was directed at the tragedy itself, rather Richardson's potential exploitation of it.

"It has occurred to me that Simon's 'eye-roll' could very well have been directed toward what he perceived as Chris trying to get votes by bringing up the VT tragedy...I think we should acknowledge the fact that Simon was probably not rolling his eyes at victims of a college shooting. He's not that mean."

Cowell also received support from two of his bosses.

Executive producer Ken Warwick said the judge was "mortified" over the suggestions he was slighting the victims.

"He would be the biggest fool on television if he did that. And he's not a fool, believe me," the producer said during a teleconference with reporters Wednesday.

Warwick cited studio noise and a faulty microphone as contributing factors in Cowell's inability to hear Richardson's full remarks. The producer also said that the show might briefly address the burgeoning controversy during the elimination episode.

Another executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, released a statement saying, "This is a sad time for everyone, so it is especially disheartening that a quick camera cutaway could have been misinterpreted." Lythgoe also noted that Seacrest begain Tuesday's telecast expressing sympathy to those touched by the tragedy.

Monday's massacre at the university left 33 people dead, including the gunmen—the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

Fox declined to comment beyond confirming that it had received only a handful of complaints about Cowell's gesture.

The network has been particularly sensitive to the tragedy, immediately shelving an episode of Bones slated to air Wednesday about a murder on a college campus.