Simon Cowell now tweets his mind on Twitter

Simon Cowell. AP file photo

WASHINGTON—It’s been some time coming, but sharp-tongued transatlantic music mogul Simon Cowell has made his debut on Twitter — and he claims he loves it.

“It’s official, I know it’s taken a while. It’s really me! We’re live in 10 minutes. I’ll keep you posted. Lots of love #iamsimon,” read Cowell’s inaugural tweet, which came a skillful 12 letters within Twitter’s 140-character limit.

By “live” he meant Wednesday’s prime time telecast of the US edition of his reality talent show “The X Factor,” during which he tweeted swipes at fellow judges Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger.

“I love being on twitter,” he added — with indifference to capitalization — after the show. “Thank you for allowing me to beat the other 3 in the popularity poll. Paula looked like she’d sucked on a lemon!”

Cowell, 52, was already a household name in the United States for his sometimes mean-spirited remarks as a judge on “American Idol” before he imported “The X Factor” from his native Britain.

By 1800 GMT Thursday he had gathered close to 240,000 followers on Twitter — while he himself had chosen to follow just 11 others, mostly from “The X-Factor.”