‘X Factor’ New Zealand judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon fired after contestant Joe Irvine ‘critique’

Well, this is a story we certainly have not seen before. There are many occasions in which we’ve seen judges on a reality show removed after a show, but there are only a select few times we’ve seen someone dismissed during a season … especially following a public outcry.

This exact thing happened to “X Factor” judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, after they really eviscerated a contestant named Joe Irvine. She accused him of being a copycat, said that he was “disgusting,” and also that he was “absolutely artistically atrocious.” Her husband Moon then went on to compare him to Norman Bates, which is probably one of the last people you ever want to be compared to. You can see the entire audition play out in the video below.

Per reports from the website Stuff, Mediaworks chief executive Mark Weldon (one of the main forces behind the show) explained that after such an outcry to dismiss the judges, they decided that it was the right move to send them home:

“Last night on X Factor both Kills and Moon made comments that were completely unacceptable. While the judges on X Factor are expected to provide critiques of the performances, we will not tolerate such destructive tirades from any of the judges … Contestants put their all into this competition and they should expect to receive feedback and criticism that is professional and constructive. We no longer have confidence that Kills and Moon are the right people to perform the role of X Factor judges and they will leave the show, effective immediately.”

Ultimately, we do still think that this was a reactionary move. Obviously these comments were filmed a while back, and they still made it to the air despite their nastiness.

One of the few times that we have seen a judge dismissed in-season was during production for the first “X Factor” in America, and that was when Cheryl Cole was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. However, that was not for anything malicious, and rather a creative decision.

What do you think about this decision, and was it the right one? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some other news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)