Natalia Kills and Willy Moon have been fired less than 24 hours after their bullying outburst on the New Zealand based reality show.
The double dismissal has been well received by both New Zealand and the international public, after the married judging couple unleashed a tirade of insults to innocent X-Factor contestant, Joe Irvine.
Natalia and her husband, Willy Moon were slammed for bullying the X-Factor contestant during the first live show, resulting in a huge public outcry for the duo to be sacked.
The attack went viral within hours, resulting in an world-wide online petition for Natalia to be fired.
Listening to the public, it was announced by the series’ host, Dominic Bowden, that the duo had been sacked.
“Yes, following last night’s show, MediaWorks has made the decision that Willy Moon and Natalia Kills are leaving the show,” the host said during the live results show.
In a statement, the company behind X Factor, MediaWorks’ chief executive Mark Weldon also confirmed the pair will no longer be a part of the show.
“Last night on X Factor both Kills and Moon made comments that were completely unacceptable. While the judges on X Factor are expected to provide critiques of the performances, we will not tolerate such destructive tirades from any of the judges.” The statement read.
“Contestants put their all into this competition and they should expect to receive feedback and criticism that is professional and constructive.
“We no longer have confidence that Kills and Moon are the right people to perform the role of X Factor judges and they will leave the show, effective immediately.”
Natalia’s unprovoked-attack on Joe was witnessed first-hand by the X-Factor NZ live studio audience and fellow judges of the reality show, leaving the entire room in shock.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m just going to state the obvious, we have a doppelgänger in our midst.” Natalia began.
“As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you’ve copied my husband.
“Do you not have any value or respect for originality? You’re a laughing stock… I personally found it absolutely artistically atrocious.”
During this bizarre outburst, Joe Irvine remained composed, unlike the audience and fellow panel judges and fellow judges Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt who were outraged.
Both tweeted their disgust at the pair’s behaviour.
But Natalia showed no remorse for her vile worlds, thanking all her new followers on Twitter.
“Had the most fun at the live shows tonight! So many new followers! Love you all. Time to celebrate!” she tweeted to her 134K followers.
Adding insult to injury she also thanked the public for their love and support.
“I love you guys, thanks for your support & understanding my passionate opinions! You know what they say about me…” she shared with a video link to her song.
Since the attack, Joe has found support in not only the public but international singers Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding.
“Don’t worry about what anyone else says man. Enjoy yourself with it, that’s what singing is about, not what other people think,” Ed, tweeted. The message was shared more than 8,000 times and favourite more than 12,500 times by his 12.8 million followers.
Ellie was also shocked by the Natalia and her husband, taking to Twitter, “You sort of have to be, you know, vaguely relevant to have your style stolen just saying,” she wrote. The tweet was deleted, but had already gone viral on Twitter. She later followed up with another message.
“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,” she said.
We hope the new judges learn to critique with kindness!
Watch the original comments made by Natalia and Willy in the video player above.
