Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 27, 2025

A former "X Factor" contestant studied law so she could sue Simon Cowell's company after the show 'almost ruined my life,' report says

A former "X Factor" contestant studied law so she could sue Simon Cowell's company after the show 'almost ruined my life,' report says

A former "X Factor" contestant retrained in law so that she could sue Simon Cowell's company over her experience on the show, a report says.

Katie Waissel, 36, who appeared on the UK version of "The X Factor" in 2010, told London's Sunday Times she planned to take legal action against Syco Entertainment, claiming it failed in its obligation to provide a duty of care to her and to other contestants.
She told the newspaper she received acid-attack and death threats after becoming a hate figure on the show and reaching the quarter-finals.

Waissel said she wasn't allowed to leave the house she lived in during the live shows, barely ate or slept, and has since sought therapy and counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

She told the Sunday Times she decided last year to enroll at BPP University in London, and has since earned a postgraduate law degree. The qualification would allow her to work as a paralegal or to take further training to become a lawyer.

"There are so many of us who have been so trapped and it's not fair. There was a huge imbalance in power," Waissel told the newspaper. "I just wanted to be able to understand and to protect people from being manipulated in the future."

Waissel, who finished in seventh place, told the Sunday Times the show paid her a token £1, or about $1.54 in 2010, for appearing on the live shows, with contestants not legally classified as employees.

She said she planned to bring a civil case of personal injury under negligence to Syco Entertainment, which Cowell runs. Waissel and her legal team sent a letter of claim to the company, according to the report.

Waissel would have to persuade a judge to waive the statute of limitations, which has a maximum of three years, for personal-injury suits.

Simco, a subsidiary of Syco, and Freemantle TV produced "The X Factor."

A Freemantle representative told Insider in a statement: "The duty of care to our contestants is of the utmost importance to us and we take the welfare of everyone involved very seriously. We have robust measures in place to ensure contestants are supported including a dedicated welfare team made up of psychologists, doctors, welfare producers and independent legal and management advisors with no time limit on aftercare once the show has aired."

"The X Factor" made stars of contestants in both the US and the UK like One Direction, Little Mix, and Camila Cabello. But the show, which ended in the UK in 2018, has come under intense scrutiny for the way it treats contestants.

In August, an unnamed source told The Mirror that she and five other previous contestants were in the process of approaching a law firm to take legal action against Syco.

"Your mental well-being was of no one's interest. We were just pawns in their game. When I entered the show I was confident, ambitious, and charismatic," the source told the newspaper. "Now I am extremely untrusting, emotional, nervous, and full of anxiety."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×