Entertainment

Britney gives herself the ‘X’

Britney Spears has voted herself off “The X Factor,” a source close to the show says.

Spears may have left the show one step ahead of the ax, according to some reports.

But Fox officials said this week that they wanted her back next season , so it seems unclear why she decided to bail now on Simon Cowell, who owns and produces the singing show.

Spears was recruited to “The X Factor” with a reported $15 million salary.

Cowell now has to remake half of the panel for the second time in two years, after judge L.A. Reid announced before December’s finale that he would be returning full time to his job as the head of Epic Records.

“The X Factor” is due to return for a third season in September.

Cowell had hoped Spears’ huge fan base would give his show a second chance with audiences after a disappointing first season in 2011 that ended with the firing of two judges as well as host Steve Jones.

But Spears often came across as bland and boring in her role as a judge and mentor to the aspiring pop-star contestants, and the show lost some 3 million viewers compared to its first season.