WAR OF DIVAS COSIMA VS PAULINI
the pressure is basically saying that I faked the nodules and there was nothing wrong with my voice. Why would I get so far just to pull out the week before? It doesn’t make sense. I wanted to leave earlier, but they made me wait to announce it on stage.’
But it seems it’s not just Mark who is still bitter about the way things turned out.
Fellow singer Paulini Curuenavuli, who came fourth in the competition, still harbours a grudge too, blaming Cosima for her own failure to win votes.
‘I knew she wasn’t feeling well. There were four of us left in the house. I was like, jeez why didn’t she do it on my week,’ Paulini told E! News.
Shocked by her former co-star’s scathing comments, Cosima is adamant she won’t sink to their level.
She blasts Paulini by saying: ‘The public voted for me to go into the top three and she still wishes I had left. So she would’ve been happy going through by default?
‘If anything I should feel ripped off. Why me? Why did I get sick? But I don’t because I don’t focus on what could have been I keep moving forward,’ she says. ‘It’s insensitive and hurtful and there is no reason for it because it worked out beautifully for her anyway.
‘She got the record deal, then went into the Young Divas. She just didn’t win.’
Having no regrets, Cosima says she merely put her ‘health before vanity’ and, while she has made some good and bad decisions growing up, she stands by her actions.
‘No-one but me and my family knows how hard it was for me to do that and after all this time I’m annoyed that I’m still being spoken about negatively.
‘Why, when given the opportunity to relive an amazing show and celebrate with Idol fans, would you purposely go out of your way to cast a black cloud over the show?’ she questions.
‘I don’t hold grudges and I have no animosity towards Paulini or Mark, but they clearly have unresolved issues with my exit from the show. I just wanted to defend myself and say that people should stop and think before speaking because it can hurt.’