“The show ruined my life”
X-Factor participant is studying law – and now wants to sue the makers
Katie Waissel also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016
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Katie Waissel rose to fame on British talent show X Factor. But the experience was not good. She completed legal training and now wants to sue the makers around Simon Cowell.
The British talent show “The X Factor” has produced stars like Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and James Arthur. But not every participant story has such a happy ending. Singer Katie Waissel, who took part in the show in 2010 and made it to the quarterfinals, says today: “The show ruined my life.”
The 35-year-old is currently causing a bitter personal reckoning in the London newspaper “Times” caused a stir. The popular TV show not only gave her national fame, but also caused massive psychological problems. Because Waissel was celebrated by part of the audience, but attacked by another part so badly that she was even considered the most hated contestant of the show was designated.
Waissel reports that she received threats of acid attacks via mail and death threats allegedly from al-Qaeda. She suffered from panic attacks and had suicidal thoughts. She sought help with therapy for post-traumatic stress disorders.
However, she feels completely abandoned by the creators of the show around music producer Simon Cowell with her problems. Because they violated their duty of care, Waissel now wants to sue them. She has acquired legal expertise herself. She recently earned a law degree from the University of London, Waissel told The Times. This allows her to work as a legal advisor or to pursue her legal career up to the point of becoming a lawyer.
“Many of us fell into the trap”
In retrospect, Waissel not only feels inadequately protected from viewer hatred, but also badly treated by the show makers themselves. During the live shows, she was hardly allowed to leave her accommodation, hardly eaten or slept. Many other participants in the show were also exploited: “There are so many of us who fell into a trap, and that’s not fair, there was a big imbalance of power,” said Waissel. “I just wanted to be able [die Verträge] to understand and protect people from being manipulated in the future.”
Waissel and her legal team now want to sue the production company responsible, Syco Entertainment. The head of the company is Simon Cowell, who, as a producer and juror, has helped other shows such as “Britain’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” to great success in addition to X-Factor. “The X-Factor” ran in Great Britain from 2004 to 2018 in 15 seasons with 445 episodes. There had been criticism of the way the participants were treated before.
Co-production company Freemantle said in a press statement that the duty of care to the contestants is “paramount” and they take the well-being of everyone involved very seriously. “We have put in place robust measures to ensure contestants are supported. This includes a dedicated care team made up of psychologists, doctors, care producers and independent legal and management consultants, and there is no time limit for follow-up care after the show has aired.”