Art Garfunkel blames Paul Simon for breaking up their iconic partnership in 1970, saying in an interview that Simon walked away from “the glory” following the release of the best-selling album “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

Garfunkel also told The Telegraph that the 5-foot-3-inch Simon probably had a “Napoleon complex” which turned him into a “monster,” according to the New York Daily News.

“I don’t want to say anti-Paul Simon things but it seems very perverse to not enjoy the glory and walk away from it instead. …What’s going on with you, you idiot? How could you let that go, jerk?”

Still, after saying some not so flattering things about Simon, Garfunkel says touring again with him is “entirely doable” and that they could still make beautiful music together.

“When we get together, with his guitar, it’s a delight to both our ears,” he said. “A little bubble comes over us and it seems effortless. We blend. So, as far as this half is concerned, I would say, ‘Why not, while we’re still alive?'”

So, maybe Simon isn’t such a jerk, if Garfunkel imagines them working together again, including after calling him a jerk and a monster. Or maybe calling Simon names in the media is just the friendly-bantering way Garfunkel shows his fondness and appreciation.

The duo go way back. Both born in 1941, they grew up three blocks from each other in Queens, met while appearing in a school play in 1953 and sang together as teens under the stage name “Tom and Jerry.” As Simon and Garfunkel, the two shot to fame in the mid-1960s, producing such singles as “The Sound of Silence” and “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.” These songs, as well as “Mrs. Robinson,” were featured in the 1967 film “The Graduate,” which helped propel the two to becoming the biggest rock duo in the world and counter-culture icons.

They have re-united several times, most notably when they played a free Central Park concert to more than 500,000 people. Their “Old Friends” reunion tour took place in 2003 culminating in a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome.

Martha Ross provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her at twitter.com/marthajross.