Cheryl: Nobody should get this level of abuse
CHERYL claims she “loved” her X-Factor performance – and has slammed critics in a lengthy Twitter post.
Ofcom received 15 complaints about the Geordie star’s performance of comeback track Love Made Me Do It.
Dressed in a tight black bodysuit, she licked her hand in a raunchy routine which split opinion.
But she’s hit out the “sheer level of unbalanced negativity” towards it.
The former X Factor judge posted: “I wanted to start by saying thank you all so much for your lovely comments and support for my performance on Sunday.
“Having spent 16 years in the public eye I have always been accepting of people’s opinions. Me personally, my music and performances are never going to be for everyone. And that’s OK.”
The 35-year-old, whose new single is her first release since 2015, went on to say she “let a lot of things lie but the sheer level of unbalanced negativity towards me in the tabloid press these past few days has been frankly shocking and I need to address it”.
She continued: “This level of relentless abuse should not be tolerated in any walk of life. From my appearance, my body size and shape to my performance and even dragging innocent people into this like they did to Nile Rodgers simply for a clickbait headline is totally uncalled for. It also gives the trolls a bigger voice and platform. What’s even more surprising to me is that some of these people are the first to write that we should be being more socially aware and conscious of online bullying and mental health awareness. Is this any different?”
She ended her post thanking her fans for “being strong-minded enough to not be influenced by the negativity”, and added a note saying: “PS... I did watch my performance back and I LOVED IT!”
The routine drew complaints objecting to the sexual tone and clothing.
Following Sunday night’s show, Chic star Nile Rodgers took to social media to dismiss suggestions he had “snubbed” Cheryl by not standing after her performance. Rodgers tweeted a photo showing that he did stand up and said: “I’d never snub ANYBODY. It’s not my nature.”