Amelia Lily has admitted she feels ‘bad’ that Katie Waissel had ‘such a traumatic time’ on The X Factor since her own experience was great.
The singer, 28, revealed she was ‘so grateful’ to have reached third place in the talent show’s 2011 series and finds it ‘totally bizarre’ to hear opposing experiences.
While attending the ICON Awards in Support of Prostate Cancer Charity on Friday night, she exclusively told MailOnline how she ‘owes her life’ to the ITV programme and that it helped her buy her house.
Last September, BBC Sounds announced a podcast series hosted by Amelia, called The Talent Factory: Inside The Music Machine.
In the show, the You Bring Me Joy songstress explored the impact of talent shows on both the music industry and the aspiring artists who took part.
‘I owe my life to that show!’ Amelia Lily has admitted she feels ‘bad’ that Katie Waissel had ‘such a traumatic time’ on The X Factor since her own experience was great
She said: ‘I think what was really interesting for me is, obviously I’ve just done a BBC Sounds podcast about all of this, and for me it was really interesting to hear other people’s stories, some better than others, obviously.
‘Some had quite a traumatic experience on the show. For me, I had a great time on the show and I owe my life to the show. I bought my house because of The X Factor.
‘I feel like I was so young and just so grateful to be there. But obviously when I did host the podcast, it was interesting to hear other people’s stories and the dynamic was just totally… just bizarre.
‘We had a few different guests on there. There was Joe McElderry who had a very pleasant experience, Danyl Johnson, Niki Evans and Kate Waissel. We had a few people on the podcast and it was really interesting.’
The X Factor ran from 2004 until 2018 with a variety of judges overseeing wannabes as they battled it out for a coveted record contract.
Although the competition had launched a host of successful careers, including those of One Direction, Little Mix and Olly Murs, some former contestants, including Rebecca Ferguson, Cher Lloyd, Jedward and Katie, have called out the treatment they received on the show.
Throughout the course of the singing competition, Katie, of the 2010 series, said she received acid attack and death threats, and suffered both panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.
The former contestant also said she has since sought therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder following her time on the show.
Her side: The singer, 28, revealed she was ‘so grateful’ to have reached third place in the talent show’s 2011 series and finds it ‘totally bizarre’ to hear opposing experiences (Katie Waissel is pictured)
After retraining in law, Katie said she is suing Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, the production company behind the talent show, for breach of duty of care.
When asked about her discussion with Katie on the podcast, Amelia said: ‘It was definitely interesting and obviously, you know, her time on the show wasn’t great for her, which I’m sad about because when you listen to the likes of me and Joe speak on the podcast, we had a really, really positive, positive time.
‘Unfortunately, everyone’s experience is gonna be different and, you know, I’ve got to just go with what my own was.’
Katie has also founded the OWHL Foundation to help others who have experienced a similar situation to her. On its website, the foundation says it aims to ‘oversee the welfare, human rights and liberty within the creative industry sector’.
Looking back through contracts she signed during her time on the X Factor, she told The Times recently: ‘There are so many of us who have been so trapped and it’s not fair, there was a huge imbalance in power.’
This motivated her to want to understand how the contracts worked so that she could help other people ‘from being manipulated in the future,’ she said.
Grateful: She exclusively told MailOnline how she ‘owes her life’ to the ITV programme and that it helped her buy her house (pictured in 2011)
Katie’s claim is targeting Syco Entertainment, whose subsidiary Simco produced the show alongside Fremantle.
With millions of viewers tuning in each Saturday night, the singing contest was quickly franchised to other contrives around the world, replicating huge viewing figures in the US, Spain and Australia.
Other contestants have also opened up about their time on the show.
Cher Lloyd also shot to fame on the 2010 series at just 16-years-old, and said she was left feeling ‘vulnerable’.
‘At times I’d get really angry’ she said in 2021. ‘I felt angry because I’d go to a rehearsal, leave the studio, and chased on my own, chased by a group of 20 to 25 men with cameras.
‘I just felt really vulnerable. There’d be a chaperone person for everyone as a group, of course, we were underage.’
Matt Cardle, who won the show in 2010, has also addressed his time on the X Factor after going to rehab for alcohol and prescription drug addiction.
The singer said in 2021 that he believed sometimes reality show contestants’ ‘dreams and hopes’ are messed with in order to make great TV.
Matt said: ‘There really is a duty of care to protect because those shows use people. It’s as simple as that, you know. Like everyone else on that show was, was being used, as was I even post the show.’
He continued: ‘It’s a tricky one for them to navigate because they are just trying to make good telly. But along the way, people’s hopes and dreams are going to get, you know, messed with.’
The Times reported that the show’s co-production company Fremantle had robust measures to ‘ensure contestants are supported, including a dedicated welfare team made up of psychologists, doctors, welfare producers and independent legal and management advisers with no time limit on aftercare once the show has aired.’
MailOnline reached out to Syco Entertainment for comment at the time.
Brave: After retraining in law, Katie said she is suing Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, the production company behind the talent show, for breach of duty of care
EXC: Amelia Lily feels ‘bad’ Katie Waissel had ‘traumatic time’ on The X Factor
Source: Viral Buzz Philippines
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