Ed Sheeran Stands Up For Slammed ‘X-Factor’ Contestant

Ed Sheeran has stood up for the slammed New Zealand X-Factor contestant by tweeting a message of support. Joe Irvine was labelled “creepy” and “disgusting” by two of the judges on the show. Both judges, Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, have been fired from the show and replacements are still being looked into.

Irvine was upset after the comments, which were described as “disgraceful” after the show. Many were angry at the way he was spoken to during the live performance, with Sheeran joining in.

According to the British newspaper Metro, Ed took to Twitter to send the positive message. He told the young singer to enjoy himself and not worry about what others say. Singing is all about having fun and not worrying about others.

@jooe63_joe don’t worry about what anyone else says man. Enjoy yourself with it, that’s what singing is about, not what other people think

— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) March 16, 2015

That message was quickly retweeted by the X-Factor contestant, along with many others. Sheeran’s fans around the world commend him for taking the time to support a young artist in the making.

The whole commentary from the judges on March 14’s episode was uncomfortable to watch. Kills started the attack by accusing Joe of copying her husband Moon’s style, reports NME. She told him that his performance was “cheesy” and “artistically atrocious.” She ended by telling him that he made her sick. Moon then took over, saying that it was “creepy,” and likened it to the movie Psycho.

“You’re a laughing stock. It’s cheesy, it’s disgusting. I personally found it absolutely artistically atrocious. I am embarrassed to be sitting here in your presence having to even dignify you with an answer of my opinion… You make me sick.”

–Natalia Kills

“It’s like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother’s clothing. It’s just a little bit creepy. I feel like you’re going to stitch someone’s skin to your face and then kill everyone in the audience.”

–Willy Moon

Sponsors for the show pressured TV3 to remove the two from the judging panel. The clip of the two attacking the singer soon went viral around the world, and TV3 did confirm that it was bullying when writing on its Facebook page. The two other judges, Melanie Blatt and Stan Walker, will continue to judge while replacements are found.

It is times like this that Joe Irvine could have given up on his career and his dreams. He could have been so shaken and upset at the comments that he decided to just leave. However, Ed Sheeran clearly does not want that to happen. The tweet to support him clearly shows that. While he did not say if the singer was any good or if the performance was creepy, he made it clear why. Joe should not focus on what other people think.

Since the incident, people have asked who Natalia Kills and her husband are. Ellie Goulding shared a dig at that when she also tweeted her support for the X-Factor contestant. Saying that someone needs to be relevant to have their style stolen, she made it clear that Moon certainly is not. However, Ed Sheeran kept it classier by not attacking the judges but just by standing up for Irvine.

[Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images]