Although Simon Cowell created The X Factor and boasted about his sometimes harsh critiques as a judge, even Cowell may not have anticipated the latest brouhaha that resulted in two judges, Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, being fired simultaneously. But that’s just what happened on New Zealand’s version of The X Factor when those judges were accused of bullying, reported the UK Telegraph .
Natalia Kills and Willy Moon are married musicians, and the show which incited the outcry marked their first and last appearance on a live X Factor broadcast. The victim of their critique was Joe Irvine.
“[You are a] doppelganger,” declared Kills, commenting on what she considered to be stealing Willy’s look.
“From the hair to the suit, [you are a] laughing stock, cheesy, disgusting [and] absolutely artistically atrocious.”
But Irvine’s misery didn’t stop there. Moon chimed in.
“It’s like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother’s clothing. I feel like you’re going to stitch someone’s skin to your face and kill everybody in the audience.”
Twitter immediately exploded with outrage over the cruelty of those comments, and TV3 New Zealand responded with a posting owning up to the bullying.
“Following tonight’s episode of The #XFactorNZ we received a huge amount of feedback about comments made by our judges. The nature of live television can be unpredictable and we appreciate you taking the time to voice your opinion. TV3 does not condone bullying and are currently on-site with Joe who is doing well.”
https://youtu.be/G6vkcKIHG10
In addition, the chief executive of the company responsible for New Zealand’s X Factor listened. Mark Weldon issued an official statement in response, making it clear that the duo were off the show, reported Hollywood Life .
“While the judges on X Factor are expected to provide critiques of the performances, we will not tolerate such destructive tirades from any of the judges. Contestants put their all into this competition and they should expect to receive feedback and criticism that is professional and constructive. We no longer have confidence that Kills and Moon are the right people to perform the role of X Factor judges and they will leave the show, effective immediately.”
As for Simon Cowell, he’s stayed true to his belief that criticism is part of The X Factor , as shown below.
https://youtu.be/7Q1DnbkQ_N8
However, although he remains active in The X Factor , Cowell is focusing more now on his two babies, the Fifth Harmony girl band and his new son Eric, as the Inquisitr reported.
What do you think? Has The X Factor taken criticism too far? Post your comments below about The X Factor judges firing.
[Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images]
