A former X Factor fashion director has told of a ‘dark misogyny’ that is said to have plagued the hit ITV singing show.
Grace Woodward, who worked during the show’s golden era in 2010, said that every woman who took park on the show was seen as ‘expendable’.
The 46-year-old claimed that they were not given the proper care while male contestants felt untouchable.
In one incident, she claimed that One Direction's Liam Payne, who was 17 at the time, had asked her to sit on his lap.
The stylist said that the behaviour was “part of the culture” on the show and that he likely would have considered it to have been normal.
She also suggested that Cher Lloyd, who was 16 at the time, appeared very fragile and had little support.
Grace described how to the singer go so stressed during a costume fitting that she ‘aggressively waved’ a pair of scissors at a colleague. She went on to perform on stage for the Saturday night show as planned, despite the incident.
Afterwards it was claimed that no had come to comfort Cher, and suggested this reaction was not “uncommon” as “the judges were only with them when the cameras were rolling”.
Judges Cheryl and Dannii Minogue were said to be in tears on a number of occasions as they struggled with the pressure of the programme.
“Every woman on that show was expendable, and that was implicit in everything”, Grace told The Sun.
“I felt that everyone who took part was exploited for financial gain. But what I saw over and over again was the women having a hard time, fighting for their places, while the men did what they wanted.”
She added: “The contestants were under huge pressure, and for me the show was like a circus. It was mayhem - I think deliberately so, because it made it so much more explosive.”
Grace was later asked to return for the 2011 series of the show, but left after producers refused to pay her a higher fee.
A spokesperson for the X-Factor refuted the allegations and said they were “unsubstantiated”.
They told The Sun: “The well-being of everyone involved in any of our programming is paramount.
“We have thorough and robust duty-of-care protocols in place to provide support for anyone who may need it, including psychologists on hand to provide expert opinion.
“If we are made aware of any concerns, we treat the issue seriously and investigate immediately.”
