“How could I be so naive? They sold me the dream just to exploit me.”
Singer Cher Lloyd is among the latest in the line of former X Factor contestants to comment on exploitation in the music industry.
The Swagger Jagger singer appeared to comment on allegations of exploitation in her latest TikTok.
In the video, Cher sings a verse on a virtual duet with another user.
The lyrics appear to be a comment on her own experience:
“How could I be so naive? They sold me the dream just to exploit me.
“Said darling, darling, you’ll go far if you shake that ass and date a star. And if the record’s taking off, we’ll take the money.”
In the past, Cher Lloyd spoke about her experience coming off the reality show. Last year, the star told The Sun that she felt like she had been “thrown to the wolves” in the aftermath of X Factor.
The singer also spoke about receiving hate. In 2012, for instance, audience members threw bottles of urine at her during her performance at the V Festival.
Cher’s TikTok comes just a day after X Factor singer Rebecca Ferguson called for an upheaval of the British music industry.
— Rebecca Ferguson (@RebeccaFMusic) April 5, 2021
Ferguson will meet with the Culture Secretary to address abuse and exploitation within the industry.
Moreover, the singer described conditions in the scene as “archaic”. She also claimed to know two women who had been raped, and another who experienced suicidal thoughts while working in the industry.
Rebecca wrote: “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.”
On Monday, Jedward hit out at X Factor bosses in a series of tweets.
The twins said that their biggest regret was “not telling the judges on XFactor to fuck off”.
Additionally, they described every contestant as a “slave to the show”, while executives “made millions”.
An X Factor spokesperson said: “Duty of care to our contestants is of the utmost importance to us. We take welfare very seriously and have measures in place to ensure that they are supported.”
