Walsh and X Factor accused of bullying and racism
‘Most painful experience’
LOUIS Walsh has been accused of bullying by a former X Factor contestant, who alleges she was a victim of racism during her time on the show.
Misha B, who came fourth in the ITV talent show in 2011, accused the producers of scripting a bullying ‘storyline’ to sabotage her chances at winning.
She also revealed that accusations against her of bullying made by Walsh and fellow judge Tulisa Contostavlos, 31, live on air left her feeling suicidal.
On Sunday, Misha, 28, posted footage on her Instagram of the incident on the live show, which took place when she was 19. It shows Walsh and Tulisa talking to Misha after a live performance, and the Mayo pop mogul said he hoped she was not ‘too confident’, and alleged she bullied another contestant.
In the same segment, Tulisa told Misha she had ‘seen a different side to her backstage’. She also said ‘being feisty can be quite mean’ and that she’d heard from some contestants there had been ‘mean comments towards them’.
Misha told fans on Instagram of the incident: ‘In 2011 what I thought at the time would be the best opportunity for me, turned out to be the most painful experience of my life.
‘What you see in this video is 1% of what I endured. They saw an opportunity to tear down a black girl that came from a broken home and worked together to assassinate my character and to sabotage my career by orchestrating lies.’
Misha said she felt like ‘my whole world stopped’ after the incident live on air, and that she went backstage and cried.
The singer said she later had suicidal thoughts, remarking: ‘When all those allegations happened... I remember of thinking up ways to end my own life. I remember of thinking up ways that I could end the pain. That was the first time in my whole life I ever felt suicidal.’
When contacted by the Irish Daily Mail last night, Walsh, 67, declined to comment. Misha also claimed X Factor producers told judges to accuse her of bullying other contestants, leading to Tulisa and Walsh calling her ‘feisty’, ‘over-confident’ and ‘mean’ live on air.
Misha said: ‘Let me just make this very clear, these judges spent a maximum of 1% time with me and their contestants, apart from Gary [Barlow] and Kelly [Rowland]... My understanding is you created this whole narrative of me being over-confident because I’m black and in your eyes black girls should not be confident.’
Misha also claimed that other contestants, including eventual winners Little Mix, were told that she had been talking about them, which she strongly denied. Representatives for the 2011 X Factor judges have been approached for comment.
An X Factor spokesperson said: ‘We are very concerned to hear Misha’s comments regarding her experience on The X Factor in 2011.
‘We are currently looking into this matter and are reaching out to Misha to discuss the important issues she has raised. The welfare of contestants is our priority and we are committed to diversity and equality.’