The music world has slowly but surely been reacting to the deeply weird tirade on New Zealand’s X Factor set forth by Natalia Kills and Willy Moon against contestant Joe Irvine. The judges accused Irvine of copying Moon’s signature look on the show, and after the haranguing went viral and was widely criticized, Kills and Moon were dismissed from the X Factor panel.
Natalia Kills, Willy Moon & The Madness of Their ‘X Factor’ New Zealand Rant
Since the debacle went down on Saturday night (Mar. 14), a number of music stars have voiced their support to Irvine (who took the criticism in stride onstage), while others have chosen to personally take aim at Kills and Moon, who have so far remained silent on their firings.
@jooe63_joe lorde sent me cupcakes I thank u so much I love them pic.twitter.com/11kFEoVqwn
— joe irvine (@jooe63_joe) March 16, 2015
Lorde, for instance, sent Irvine a box of cupcakes and a personal letter, in which she praised the New Zealander’s “individuality, positive energy and spirit” on the show. “Lorde sent me cupcakes I thank u so much I love them,” Irvine posted in response on Twitter on Monday, and a rep for Lorde has confirmed that the gift did come straight from the 18-year-old artist.
Six More Male Celebrities Who Ripped Off Willy Moon’s ‘Look’
Meanwhile, Calvin Harris took to Snapchat on Monday to trash Kills and Moon: according to Idolator, the DJ shared an old photo of Kills with the caption “Natalia kills back in the day not joking,” and a current shot of the U.K. singer with the letters “STFU” branded over her head. He also posted a photo of Moon with the caption, “Cliff Richard looking motherfucker.”
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
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) March 16, 2015
Harris’ “I Need Your Love” collaborator Ellie Goulding also threw some shade toward Kills and Moon on social media. “You sort of have to be, you know, vaguely relevant to have your style stolen just saying,” she wrote on Twitter on Monday, before deleting the tweet and adding the less harsh response, “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.”
Chlöe Howl, a promising U.K. pop star, fired off this hilarious tweet on Monday:
Natalia Kills must find awards ceremonies really stressful when she realises every single male popstar has come dressed as her husband 🙁
— Chlöe Howl (@ChloeHowl) March 16, 2015
And as covered yesterday, Ed Sheeran had nothing but encouragement to offer to Irvine:
@jooe63_joe 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 Sheeran (@edsheeran) March 16, 2015
James Arthur, a British star and winner of the U.K. X Factor in 2012, wrote on Twitter, “That poor guy on XFNZ. He didn’t do anything wrong? Apart from slightly resemble that willy.. I’m off to New Zealand to save the day lol.” He also posted a slew of #StopBullying tweets, and advised Irvine directly: “Don’t ever lose sight of the dream. You handled yourself very well in the face of hate, that’s half the battle.”
Even Kills and Moon’s (former) fellow judges have voiced their opinion of the matter on Twitter. Following the live show on Saturday night, Melanie Blatt wrote that she was “not cool with what went down” on the show; then, after Kills was fired but refused to apologize, Blatt added this insult:
Ive tried to keep my cool and stay professional but really @nataliakills ? Sorry love , you’re a twat https://t.co/l2lIE21G99
— melanie blatt (@melblatt) March 15, 2015
Finally, X Factor New Zealand judge Stan Walker took a diplomatic approach to the entire incident:
Well thats that. Now lets focus on these talented & incredible contestants. The show is about them. Lets move forward. Justice was served!
— Stan Walker (@1stanwalker) March 16, 2015