Ad

Janet Devlin shares support for X Factor co-star Misha B amid racism row

The singer has backed up Misha's claims that she didn't bully anyone on the show

Janet Devlin has shared her support for X Factor star Misha B, after she claimed she was subject to behind the scenes racism on the ITV series.

Earlier this month, Misha said she felt like she was painted as an “angry black girl” when she appeared on the show back in 2011.

The singer posted a video of judges Louis Walsh and Tulisa harshly criticising her during the third live show, over rumours she had been “bullying” other contestants behind the scenes.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’m just going to leave this here. I have received many calls and messages throughout the last couple of months regarding this incident. I have been in two minds of whether to address it, simply because I know that this problem is a lot bigger than me and I wanted to focus solely on the current affairs. Seeing the continuous mistreatment of my brothers and sisters all around the world has reawakened the PTSD that I have worked tirelessly to uproot and I know I do not stand alone on this. In 2011 what I thought at the time would be the best opportunity for me, turned out to be the most painful experience of my life. What you see in this video is 1% of what I endured. They saw an opportunity to tear down a black girl that came from a broken home and worked together to assassinate my character and to sabotage my career by orchestrating lies. ALL FOR A HEAD LINE. Nonetheless today and everyday I am a powerful black woman. I have been aware since I was a child, that my unapologetic nature would offend those that do not feel comfortable in their own skin…. Which results in this kind of behaviour. But In the words of our late great Maya Angelou STILL I RISE ????✊???? Please join me on Instagram live tonight @ 9pm where I will be talking about my experiences further. I want to make it clear that I share my truth only to educate and uplift. LOVE, m i S h a

A post shared by m i S h a (@iammisha_b) on

During an Instagram Live, the 28-year-old said she believes producers and judges had concocted a “bullying” storyline, and said: “They saw an opportunity to tear down a black girl that came from a broken home and worked together to assassinate my character and to sabotage my career by orchestrating lies.”

Misha said the experience left her with suicidal thoughts, and she’s since been diagnosed with PTSD.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by m i S h a (@iammisha_b) on

Janet, who appeared on the show alongside Misha in 2011, has since revealed that she was “upset” when the 28-year-old was accused of “bullying” other contestants behind the scenes.

Speaking on FUBAR Radio’s Access All Areas, Janet said: “I definitely remember being very upset when they accused her of being a bully.”

Janet then hinted that another contestant was the real bully by saying: “Obviously for the fact that it’s like, I knew who was bullying that year..”

“I was like, ‘You’ve got the wrong guy. Stop!’ That was heartbreaking, obviously, to see. Like I said, she was one of the good guys.”

Instagram

Opening up about her relationship with Misha, Janet said: “We were really good friends and I loved her to pieces.”

“And the reason why I loved her was she was like, out of everybody there, all she wanted to do was lift people up and support them.”

“I loved her and she always stood up for me, which I appreciated because I was so afraid of everything I was constantly having panic attacks.”

She explained that she didn’t understand at the time why Misha wasn’t popular with the public.

ITV

“The biggest annoyance for me during that show was always, why is she in the bottom two when she’s like the best vocalist here?” she confessed.

“She’s actually doing something different. She’s rapping on songs which is original content, like why aren’t people getting this? It used to frustrate me so hard because I was her biggest fan. It just bothered me.”

“I didn’t think much of the possibility of it being racially motivated, but I think that was naivety. I literally came from a small town in Ireland and got thrown on the television.”

“I’d never really seen racial issues because of the lack of diversity and races where I come from… So I didn’t even think to see it that way and that’s my own naivety,” she added.

The news comes after Tulisa issued a formal apology to Misha, after she came under fire for publicly accused her of bullying.

On this week’s episode of #GossChats – Ali Ryan chats to Aoife Walsh.

The former Miss Ireland opens up about postponing her wedding, being apart from her fiancé, and the lessons she has learned during lockdown.

#GossChats is sponsored by top Irish aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.

Ad