“X Factor” New Zealand Judges Fired After ‘Destructive Tirades’

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for NYLON(NEW YORK) — Even Simon Cowell was never this harsh on The X Factor.

Two judges on the New Zealand version of The X Factor — a husband-and-wife duo — were fired from the singing competition Monday after an especially brutal critique of a contestant’s performance on the show over the weekend.

Following a performance by Joe Irvine, who was sporting a clean-cut look and wearing a suit, judge Natalia Kills accused him of ripping off her husband Willy Moon’s style. She commented, “I’m just going to state the obvious: we have a doppelgänger in our midst.”

She continued, “As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you have copied my husband.”

Kills asked Irvine, “Do you not have any value or respect for originality? You’re a laughing stock.”

Moon piled on by calling Irvine’s performance “cheap” and “absurd,” stating that it felt “like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother’s clothing.”   

Soon afterward, Kills jumped back in, telling Irvine, “You make me sick.”

Mediaworks, which owns the network on which The X Factor airs in New Zealand, announced Monday that Kills and Moon have been removed from the show. Mediaworks CEO Mark Weldon was quoted as saying, “While the judges on X Factor are expected to provide critiques of performances, we will not tolerate such destructive tirades from any of the judges.”

Kills and Moon’s judges’ seats were vacant on Monday night’s edition of the show, during which Irvine advanced in the competition.

Irvine has received the support of British pop star Ed Sheeran on Twitter. Sheeran wrote to him, “Don’t worry about what anyone else says man. Enjoy yourself with it, that’s what singing is about, not what other people think.”

Another British artist, Ellie Goulding, tweeted to her followers, “Can’t stop myself from commenting on NZ X factor situation because I can’t stop thinking about how mean it was. Thank goodness they’re gone.”


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