-
The former X Factor contestant has told the Sunday Times she plans to sue Simon Cowell’s company.
-
Kathy Weisel said she trained as a lawyer so she could take legal action against Psycho.
-
Weisel said she sought PTSD therapy after The X Factor and that Syco failed in her duty of care.
The former X Factor contestant has trained in law so she can sue Simon Cowell’s company over her experiences on the show, a report claims.
Katie Weissel, 36, who appeared on the UK version of The X Factor in 2010, told the Sunday Times of London that she plans to take legal action against Syco Entertainment, claiming it failed to fulfill her and duty of care to other contestants.
She told the newspaper she received acid attack and death threats after becoming a hated character on the show by reaching the quarter-finals.
Weisel said she was not allowed to leave the house she lived in during live shows, could barely eat or sleep, and has since sought therapy and counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.
He told the Sunday Times that he decided to enroll at BPP University in London last year and completed a postgraduate law degree. The qualification will allow him to work as a paralegal or take further training to become a lawyer.
“There are a lot of us who are so trapped, and it’s not fair. There was a huge imbalance in power,” Weisel told the newspaper. “I just wanted to understand [the contracts] and protect people from manipulation in the future.”
Weasel, who finished seventh, told the Sunday Times he was paid £1 to take part in the live shows and contestants are not legally classed as employees.
He said he planned to file a civil negligence personal injury lawsuit against Syco Entertainment, of which Cowell is a director. According to the report, Weisel and his legal team sent a demand letter to the company.
Weisel must convince a judge to waive the three-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits.
The X Factor is produced by Simco, a subsidiary of Syco, and Freemantle TV, which told the Sunday Times it had taken “strong measures” to support contestants without time limits on aftercare after the show goes off air. :
The X Factor has made contestants stars in both the US and the UK, including One Direction, Little Mix and Camila Cabello. But the show, which ended in the UK in 2018, has come under intense scrutiny for how contestants were treated.
An unnamed source told the Mirror in August that he and five other previous contestants had approached a law firm to take legal action against SyCo.
“No one cared about your mental well-being. We were just pawns in their game. When I entered the show, I was confident, ambitious and charismatic,” a source told the newspaper. “Now I’m extremely insecure, emotional, nervous and full of anxiety.”
Syco and Freemantle did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
Were you on the X Factor? Feel free to contact this reporter [email protected]
Read the original article on Business Insider
Comments