In his own words, it’s only a singing competition, but Chris from X Factor has been at the end of some very nasty Twitter comments, some of them death threats.
X Factor hopeful Christopher Maloney expressed his dismay today at receiving online death threats from show fans who are angered that he has continued in the competition.
In a message to his fans, the 34-year-old customer service advisor said: “What’s the world coming to?”
It follows threatening messages on Twitter from viewers unhappy that he has continued to remain in the show, while favourite Ella Henderson was axed on Sunday night.
One question, it is the viewers that vote though?
Ella Henderson’s departure caused shockwaves after she proved to be the least popular contestant at the weekend. The show audience were shocked into silence when show judges put the decision to “deadlock” which meant viewer votes decided the result of the sing-off.
And Ella was the least-voted-for contestant, which Tulisa believes was a result of viewers assuming the young star was safe from elimination.
The outcome left some fans claiming the show was a “fix”, and led to unpleasant comments about Maloney being posted online, including threats and suggestions that he should kill himself.
Maloney posted his own message which said: “It’s a singing comp, now getting death threats. What’s the world coming to?”
He later said he was going to take a break from Twitter “for a bit”, adding: “Need to concentrate on my songs for this week.”
Show bosses are understood to be discussing the messages with Maloney and are seeking guidance on what sort of action he wants to take, and if he wishes to refer it to police.
A programme spokesman said: “The welfare of our contestants is always our key priority and we work with them to provide what support is needed.”
Earlier on, it was suggested that Maloney has been clocking up his phone bill voting for himself.
