Natalia Kills, the embattled former judge of New Zealand’s X Factor whose trashing of contestant Joe Irvine went viral, has finally broken her silence following her dismissal from the show.
Kills — who claimed that Irvine copied the style of her husband, Willy Moon, who was also a judge on the show and was also fired for bullying the young singer — quickly sounded off on the situation in a new video interview with MTV Australia. The clip is geo-blocked in the U.S., but U.K. site Female First (via Idolator) has a transcript of her clipped comments.
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“I feel like everyone needs to put the idea of it being a manufactured conspiracy theory behind them, there’s really nothing to it,” Kills says. “I love my husband with all of my heart, we’ll stick together no matter what.
“There are many sides to this story and I am not about to get an entire industry in trouble that has been going on for years and years entertaining the masses, so thank you absolutely everyone for your support,” Kills continued. “Thank you to all of my fans. Thank you to my husband. … I would like to wish Joe Irvine and my boys category all the best on the show.”
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Kills has not responded to multiple requests to further comment on the X Factor debacle, in which she referred to Irvine’s presentation as “disgusting” and was soundly booed by the live audience last Saturday (Mar. 14). The following day, Kills posted to Twitter, “I love you guys, thanks for your support & understanding my passionate opinions!” Her husband, Moon, has also remained silent on the firing.
Since the controversy began, a handful of music stars have reacted to tirade by Kills and Moon: Ed Sheeran and Lorde have reached out to Irvine, while Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris mocked the former judges on social media. Check out a full roundup of celebrity reactions here.