The X Factor 'could be hit with more claims of abuse of power' after shock allegations

Two more former contestants on the X Factor have reportedly spoken out about facing ‘abuse’ during and straight after their time on the talent show.

According to The Sun, the singers came forward in the wake of several other stars including Jedward and Cher Lloyd blasting the ITV series, with a source saying that ‘momentum is gathering’ and others are ‘finding confidence to tell their stories’.

In a week of shock allegations, fellow alum Rebecca Ferguson has also demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry and called for greater regulation to protect artists from ‘bullying’ agents and managers.

A source said: ‘There have long been rumours swirling about things involving NDAs and legal threats, but suddenly a few well-known faces are speaking out at once.

Speaking out: Two more former contestants on the X Factor have reportedly spoken out about facing ‘abuse’ during and straight after their time on the talent show (pictured, Rebecca Ferguson who demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry on Monday) 

‘It has given others the confidence to think about telling their stories too, and the momentum is gathering.

‘Some of those who feel they were exploited and allege they were abused are extremely well known, but always feared speaking out could end their careers. That seems to be changing.’

MailOnline has contacted Simon Cowell and The X Factor for a comment. 

The new accusations come just hours after Cher Lloyd accused bosses of taking advantage of her naivety and exploiting her.

Cher, who finished fourth in the 2010 edition of X Factor, claimed she was ‘sold a dream’ when appearing on the show at 17, before being exploited.

The now-27-year-old made the claims in a TikTok video, singing in a virtual duet: ‘How could I be so naive? They sold me the dream just to exploit me. 

Claims: A source has said that ‘momentum is gathering’ and others are ‘finding confidence to tell their stories’ in the wake of Jedward (pictured) and Cher Lloyd’s allegations 

‘Said darling darling you’ll go far if you shake that a** and date a star. And if the record’s taking off we’ll take the money.’

She has previously criticised X Factor, revealing in an interview last year that she had been ‘thrown to the wolves’ and experienced racism, abuse and death threats.

While on Tuesday, it was reported that Rebecca Ferguson has demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry and called for greater regulation to protect artists from ‘bullying’ agents and managers. 

The singer, 34, who appeared on The X Factor in 2010, posted a lengthy statement on social media where she revealed she is due to meet Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to discuss how musicians are treated by bosses.

In a fiery statement, Ms Ferguson hit out at ‘powerful’ agents, managers and other executives and called for an independent tribunal to hold them to account. The singer claims that this will protect artists and help change an ‘archaic system’. 

Former contestant: Cher Lloyd claimed in a TikTok video on Wednesday that she was ‘sold a dream’ when appearing on the show at 17, before being exploited

In a series of tweets, Ms Ferguson also claimed that she knew two women who had been raped and others who had been driven close to suicide by the industry.  

She also accused unnamed executives of ‘covering up sexual assault for your seedy friends’ and ‘grooming 17-year-old boys who are confused about their sexuality’.

The Liverpool-born star added: ‘At one point in my career I collapsed three times in a day, I was unconscious. My head hit the floor. No ambulance was called. This is one of many stories. This is the reality of artist mistreatment, this is why I fight.’

Ms Ferguson previously hit out at the industry in 2018 when she claimed to have been bullied, threatened and racially abused by executives. 

She added that she had been too worried to speak out before in fear of the welfare of her children – Lillie, 18, and Karl, 16 – but ‘will not be silenced’ any longer. Keeping the names of her alleged abusers anonymous, she said she was subjected to the ‘absolute worst, systematic bullying’ behind-the-scenes.

Ms Ferguson found fame in 2010 as the runner-up of the seventh series of X Factor, losing out to Matt Cardle.  She then signed a joint record deal with Syco Music and Epic Records in the UK and later signed with Columbia Records in the US.  

Allegations: Jedward branded music mogul Simon, 61, as ‘nothing but a bad facelift’ in a Twitter tirade against the show on Monday night (pictured in 2013) 

Tirade: The Irish duo launched a tirade against Simon Cowell and The X Factor claiming their regret on the ITV show was not telling the judges to ‘f**k off’ (pictured on the show in 2009) 

Her latest statement came shortly after former X Factor contestants Jedward blasted Simon Cowell in a stunning tirade. 

The duo claimed Mr Cowell sees himself as the ‘mafia leader’ of the music industry and said they regretted not telling the judges to ‘f**k off’ while on the ITV show. 

Jedward slammed music mogul Simon, 61, as ‘nothing but a bad facelift’ as they shared a video of them performing R.E.M. Everybody Hurts, adding: ‘Everybody hurts [heart emoji].

‘It shouldn’t be normal that all artists have to face the emotional and legal battles when all they wanted to do is sing!’

The brothers continued in a series of lengthy tweets: ‘The Biggest regret in life was not telling the judges on Xfactor to f**k off,’ followed by a heart emoji.

They alleged: ‘Every contestant on the Xfactor was a slave to the show and got paid Zero while they made millions!  

‘The fact that every contestant has to act like their judge mentors them! When in reality all they care about is their pay check!’ 

Jedward went on to claim they were seeking ‘justice’ for One Direction and Little Mix who both found fame on The X Factor.

Little Mix originally made up of Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – were formed on the show in 2011. In December, Jesy left the band as it had ‘taken a toll on her mental health’. 

Pictured: Rebecca also shared this picture on March 29 as she discussed her parliamentary inquiry and demands to overhaul the music industry 

Starting off their Twitter tirade, Jedward shared a video of them performing R.E.M. Everybody Hurts, they added: ‘Everybody hurts [heart emoji]. It shouldn’t be normal that all artists have to face the emotional and legal battles when all they wanted to do is sing!’

One Direction – made up of Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik,  and Louis Tomlinson were formed in 2010. The band has been on a hiatus since 2016 as they all launch solo careers.

Jedward claimed: ‘There’s a reason Syco is called Psycho! 1D and Little Mix are legally f***ed in contracts and can never speak out so we are!’ 

‘There’s nothing MODEST about their previous management dictating their every move from Relationships to how they live their own lives! Justice for 1D & Little Mix.’

Jedward went on to allege that they have One Direction’s contract, they continued: ‘We have 1D’s contract which was sent to use by mistake cuz we had the same label! Same management! Same security and accountants!  

‘Legally posting contracts online is gonna end up in court but we’ve known for many years the situation! Niall! Liam! Louis! Zayn! Harry! You’re survivors’ followed by a heart emoji.

Launching a tirade against the music industry in general, Jedward continued: ‘This isn’t our story to tell! 

‘It’s an insight of how corrupt the music industry is! We’re sending courage & strength to all artists being f**k over! It ends now. 

‘Facts are facts we’re putting ourselves in a very dangerous position speaking out! Victims in the music industry need to be heard! Fans have known for years!

‘Artists are on the brink of collapse at the end of touring and having to act like everything is ok! Humans can’t be owned Artists shouldn’t be owned!

‘Eating disorders and depression are very common in the music industry and it’s cuz nobody cares about the artist’s mental health! only the money!’ 

Jedward continued on their tirade: ‘Security hired to watch and report back to management like baby sitters taking away artists Freedom to grow!

‘They always isolate artists from their families and make them dependent on fake industry friends who don’t have their back!’

They added: ‘Non-Disclosure Agreements NDA’s are very prevalent in the music industry! Resulting in no one talking about the abuse/stuff that happens!’ 

They ended their Twitter tirade with: ‘Just here casually waiting for the Lawyers to come threatening us! Good Luck from the whole fandom [heart emoji] justice is gonna be served! You can’t silence the truth! Nobody can drag me down!’

MailOnline has contacted Simon Cowell, ITV, Syco, Little Mix and One Direction for comment.  

Ms Ferguson’s statement, posted on Monday, read: ‘Rebecca Ferguson demands parliamentary inquiry and overhaul of music industry.

‘Former X Factor runner up and soul singer/songwriter Rebecca Ferguson is due to meet the Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden, from the department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport early next month to debate musicians’ welfare and treatment.  

‘The music industry is currently very much front of mind with the Commons Select Committee as the economics of music streaming is in the process of an investigation.

‘Rebecca is calling for the Select Committee to extend the interrogation beyond just streaming and for artist welfare to come under the microscope.

‘Rebecca has also reached out to a major UK broadcaster and Ofcom requesting for them both to conduct investigations into the treatment and processes involved with recruiting artists.

‘In her quest to protect artists, Rebecca has also launched a petition for the public to sign and support.

‘She is determined to launch a thorough inquiry into the treatment of creatives and artists within the industry.’

Adding a comment in the statement, Rebecca claimed she had been ‘warned for years about doing this’ and that her career could be ‘affected’ by ‘speaking out’.

She said: ‘People have warned me for years about doing this or have encouraged me not to speak out, and unfortunately, I realise that my career may be once again affected by speaking out.

‘However, enough is enough and musicians/artists/creatives need change, a lot of my damage has been done but this is about protecting people in the future.

‘We need an immediate inquiry to take place to change the way people are allowed to operate in this industry! 

Hitting out: Jedward went on to claim they were seeking ‘justice’ for One Direction and Little Mix who both found fame on The X Factor

Launching a tirade against the music industry in general, Jedward continued: ‘This isn’t our story to tell!’

They ended their Twitter tirade with: ‘Just here casually waiting for the Lawyers to come threatening us! Good Luck from the whole fandom [heart emoji] justice is gonna be served! You can’t silence the truth! Nobody can drag me down!’

‘The music industry brings billions of pounds into the UK economy each year in different ways – and the artists mainly responsible need to be treated with the utmost of care and respect for their contribution to society.

‘Great artists have gone before their contribution to society! Great artists have gone before me and spoken out, Prince and Nina Simone, for example, the list is endless, and we owe it to their legacy to create a safer industry.’

Rebecca added: ‘By regulating the music industry and holding people to account it will make for a happier and healthier working environment, which will in turn increase productivity! 

‘My proposals are not very different to other businesses, I just want the people working within the industry to have somebody above them, so that they can never become so powerful that their actions are unpunishable.

‘Music managers, agents etc should have a license for instance, just like in sports. They should also face a tribunal should they mistreat an artist or employee. 

‘We need this all to be regulated, people involved should be accountable to an official independent governing body. 

Band: Little Mix originally made up of Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock – were formed on the show in 2011. In December, Jesy left the band as it had ‘taken a toll on her mental health’ (pictured in 2019)  

‘Anybody that is against this, does not love artists and wants to be able to keep an archaic system that does a disservice to music and humanity!’   

In December, it was claimed that The X Factor will reportedly not return to screens until 2022 at the very earliest.  

The hit talent contest, which has been running for 16 years, will take a break from ITV for at least 12 months amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to The Sun.

The X Factor was halted last year when coronavirus hit, rendering it impossible to produce the show, which involves mass gatherings for open public auditions. 

An insider told The Sun: ‘ITV has decided that next year just isn’t going to be feasible for X Factor.’ 

While The X Factor host, Dermot O’Leary, appeared to confirm the news during an appearance on Sunday Brunch.

The presenter admitted he had ‘no idea’ when the show would return and insisted it would ‘definitely’ not be back in 2021.

One Direction: One Direction – made up of Niall Horan, Harry Styles , Liam Payne , Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson were formed in 2010. The band has been on a hiatus since 2016 as they all launch solo careers (pictured in 2012)