Friends and fellow 2010 X Factor contestants, Rebecca Ferguson and Katie Waissel have both recently spoken out over sexual assault allegations against the ITV talent show.
Katie recently spoke to The Sun newspaper for an exclusive interview on what happened a few years after taking part in the televised singing competition, and what it has done to her mental health. In retaliation and support to her, Rebecca Ferguson who was the first female runner – up of the show, tweeted Katie saying
‘’I stand with you and every woman who has the courage to speak out and tell their truth’’
She tweeted this along with images of quotes and information about rape culture, educating her followers on what it actually means. One picture read:
‘’You’re not a victim for sharing your story. You are a survivor setting the world on fire with your truth. And you never know who needs your light, your warmth and raging courage.’’
Before she tweeted the informative yet supportive tweet, she had previously ‘warned’ her followers a day before of news relating to the show:
‘’A huge story is coming out this weekend, a victim has spoken out’’ followed by “Because of this, reputation managers and crisis teams will be flooding the press with positive stories to manipulate public opinion and water down the truth! Don’t be fooled!”
The Sun were the ones to reveal the news of Katie and her struggle after the X Factor, Katie says it started when she met up with a man from the show to talk about recording work, but it didn’t go to plan. Katie claims it to have happened in the States some years after she reached the X Factor semi – final.
Katie went on to tell The Sun how she didn’t speak out previously, as she had a ‘’fear of being blacklisted’’, and at the time she was also pregnant so didn’t want to add extra stress to herself or the situation.
The man who remains unnamed for legal reasons, no longer works for Simon Cowell (X Factor boss), and has said that the claims against him are ‘’entirely untrue’’. A spokesperson for Syco Entertainment has said ‘’we were made aware via the media of Katie’s claims in Autumn 2017 and we immediately contacted her and began an investigation.’’
Katie was also apparently told to sign a contract and was told if she didn’t, she would struggle to find work in the industry. As well as taking ‘media training’, the contestants were not allowed to have any bad words against the show at the time.
This interview has led Rebecca to also talk about her experiences too. She has voiced how her time on the show was difficult, and was allegedly told ‘’they want you because you’re a black face’’. The singer joins many other previous contestants of the show such as Chico, Cher Lloyd and Jedward who have also shared stories in the past, of the ‘abuse’ they received in their time on the show.
Woman always get asked why they didn’t speak up sooner but this seems to be the exact reason why, Katie being a good example of being scared to speak your truth in fear of not getting work again, or not being believed.
If you or anyone you know needs help and needs to speak up here are some contact numbers:
Rape Crisis: 0808 802 9999
Victim Support: 08 08 16 89 111
The Survivors Trust: 0808 801 0818
RAINN: 800 656 4673 (US)
