Simon Cowell Sued By Former ‘X Factor’ Contestant
Honestly, aren’t you surprised something like this hasn’t happened sooner on those singing reality TV shows? Simon Cowell is being sued by former X factor contestant Katie Waissel over an alleged breach of duty of care while she was on the show.
Waissel was on the show back in 2010 and placed seventh overall. In 2021, she revealed that she went to therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after having panic attacks and suicidal thoughts after being labelled the series’ “most hated” contestant.
Waissel is now a lawyer and is taking legal action against Cowell’s record company Syco Entertainment for an alleged breach of duty of care.
Waissel talked to The Sunday Times, “I am pursuing a civil case of personal injury under negligence, which pertains to duty of care.”
There is a slight snag for Waissel. The Statute of Limitations on a case like this is three years, so her team will need to convince a judge to overturn. Which, of course, might not happen.
Of the contract she received at the time, Waissel said, “I was [contractually] given £1 in exchange for appearing on the live shows section of the programme. That structure is manipulation and coercion at its finest. Company A, who is in a position of power, seeks person B, who is vulnerable. Company A says, this is the biggest opportunity of your life and without it, you would be nothing. That is the absolute pinnacle of where it’s all gone wrong. It gives me goosebumps…”
She added: “There are so many of us who have been so trapped and it’s not fair, there was a huge imbalance in power. I just wanted to be able to understand [the contracts] and to protect people from being manipulated in the future.”
Do you think the judge will overturn the Statute of Limitations on this case? Personally, I doubt it. It’s been four times as long as she had to file a grievance. Surely that’s too long?
