Annie Lennox has said that The X Factor is a "factory" owned by "puppet masters".
The singer-songwriter told Dave Gorman on Absolute Radio that her heroine Joni Mitchell could never have been discovered by the singing contest.
Lennox said: "You wouldn't find a Joni Mitchell on The X Factor, that's not the place.
"The X Factor is a specific thing for people that want to go through that process, it's a factory, you know, and it's owned and stitched-up by puppet masters."
She added of Mitchell: "[I] was blown away by the fact that she was writing these extraordinary songs with this extraordinary sort of commentary, poetic, special way, and this voice and this incredible playing.
"As soon as you heard the first chord and her voice, it was just... and I thought 'I want to do that'. You know, but I didn't have a clue how you do that."
Last year, Lennox described reality talent shows as "dangerous and cruel" and said that there was "no chance" that she would ever be a judge on their panels.
She later said that such contests are "like a casino" where "the punters think they can win but it's always the show that comes out on top", adding that she "would never have stood a chance on a show like that".
