Love Misha. She was my favourite that year and I wasn't buying the bullying allegations then at all and I was purely basing my votes on her talent. I always felt that alot of the black and normally more talented acts got hard done by on the show.

I decided to re-watch some of her X Factor performances today and this one really stood out for me, what a voice!! I don't even like this song that much anymore, but her version is lush. I immediately know again why she was always my favourite.

 

But just look how sad she looks when getting the judges comments, my heart breaks, especially with the information we know today.

 

 

I also saw it attracted some press, but look at this, ofcourse

Gary hit the nail on the head in this video any chance she had of winning (and she was one of the front runners that series in the beginning so had a great chance) was ruined the minute she was wrongly and unfairly portrayed as something she wasn’t live on TV and then the media ran with it . Tulisa and Louis come across so fake here as well with there comments .

 

Okay, I have turned into a full investigation now, BUT, I just realised that the liveshow where Kelly was 'ill' and no one really believed was the week right after the one where Tulisa and Louis attacked Misha. Surely that can't be a coincidence?

 

Omg that episode when Kelly was on the phone trying to sound ill!

 

That was the first of the occasions Misha fell into the bottom two / the sing off.

 

I watched the full thing I feel like the story of Kitty on the bus for instance was like a case of it happened but I don’t feel like Kitty is a racist just likely she seen Misha as a threat to her so it was more personal than racial. Kitty got on really with Little Mix and that band has a black member and a member of mixed ethnicities too I don’t think Kitty was racist but she was definitely very eccentric and I can imagine she was a big character to live with the type who’d want a lot of attention type thing. I’m sorry for what Misha went through though and I hope she finds peace and is still doing what she loves.

 

To be fair for me looking at this I feel like females got a rougher ride on X Factor than what males did! Cher Lloyd was someone who was character assassinated but that was more by the press than the judges. A lot of people from the 2011 series have spoken out about how they struggled during and after the show though.

 

One thing I did sort of disagree with what she said was that Tulisa and Louis were never there for their acts. I can kinda see it with Louis but I don’t for one minute think Tulisa was like that. She definitely appeared very hands on with LM at least and they’ve kept in contact ever since too. That’s the only thing I felt was untruthful. But the rest I can say felt very sincere.

Tulisa has responded in a video on Instagram

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Her video imo is a load of crap. Misha apparently done 'things' backstage to your acts explain these things now was your chance and moment to explain and you gave us nothing. Also the fact she had to throw in that her dad was born and raised in Congo at the end to justify her not being called a rasict by people ... (and the fact she posted this at this time of night when most people are asleep right now girl this was not it !

Edited June 16, 20205 yr by troylovesmusic

That whole season of XF was a mess.

 

But to lay out the whole situation:

 

We know that producers have a narrative for each episode and for the whole season, like in all reality tv. We can surmise that the aim for this episode was for Misha - who had been doing very well in the voting - to be knocked down a peg. It seems that Tulisa and Louis overegged it. (as was infamously seen with Natalia Kills on XF Aus)

 

What *nobody* on the show seemed to have taken into account was the existing stereotypes around black people and in particular black women, the 'angry black woman' stereotype especially - not to mention existing prejudice against bigger people in the country too.

 

To Tulisa and Louis - fairly privileged white people, they were simply using a strategy. The actual impact though was that they were 'proving' Misha - in the eyes of the general public - to be a horrible stereotype the likes of which black women have been accused of being for years and years. And obviously that happening on live tv would have been traumatizing to Misha and no doubt also to Kelly who would immediately see the writing on the wall.

 

With that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if Kelly threatened to quit the show after that incident and that was the reason that she was 'ill' the next week.

 

From there on the way it was handled was from bad to worse. Rather than backpedalling and admitting that either Louis or Tulisa was wrong, they tried to story produce Misha into a 'she used to be a bully but now she's better' arc - but the damage was done. And looking back, wereally can see the impact of white privilege creating the whole situation because it seems at no point did anyone *think* of how an audience that might be predisposed to disliking black women, bigger women, or rappers - might actually take that kind of accusation and run with it, instead of it being a minor story element that could appear for one week and be gone the next.

I know it can be a very uphill battle for POC and especially black women in public votes on reality shows, but I think Gary’s right and Misha could’ve won if it weren’t for those bullshit ‘allegations’. I looked at the voting stats for the series just now and she was only just behind Little Mix in the first public vote and ahead of them in the second and obvs they won so it could’ve happened. (Not making a point about any issues between them just pointing out she was close in the vote to the winner) Gary’s gone up in my estimations after this, I know it sounds pretentious af but I think he had a bit too much integrity to judge on TXF with all the manipulation. I remember vaguely buying in to the rumours at the time (I was 8!!!) I do wonder if that was unconscious racism. I also remember Kelly Rowland at the time was the first time I’d really seen a confident, sassy (for want of a better word) American woman regularly on TV and at that young age I recall thinking she was somehow chavvy :drama: I guess unconscious racism is embedded from a young age although I also remember warming to her by the end of the series and being disappointed when she left lol.

 

Omfg at that F***ing Perfect performance!!!!!!!

Tulisa has responded in a video on Instagram

 

 

Her video imo is a load of crap. Misha apparently done 'things' backstage to your acts explain these things now was your chance and moment to explain and you gave us nothing. Also the fact she had to throw in that her dad was born and raised in Congo at the end to justify her not being called a rasict by people ... (and the fact she posted this at this time of night when most people are asleep right now girl this was not it !

 

Sometimes it's just better to say nothing at all. This is the typical "BUT I HAVE BLACK FRIENDS SO I AM NOT A RASCIST!!11!@!11' comment and it's just cringeworthy.

 

This is an interesting dichotomy. Whether Tulisa is a racist or not the key issue here is that Misha was racially profiled by the show and the media and Tulisa helped to instigate gate publicly. I just think the entire show is scripted for these malleable judges and they are told what opinions to have. It's the same with Drag Race too and all talent shows I'm sure. This was a narrative the producers wanted to run with and unfortunately I think it is deeply rooted in insidious racism.

Nothing Tulisa said has made me question Misha’s story at all. Her acts could have well come crying to her due to comments they had heard, that’s very consistent with Misha claiming that Kitty was spreading rumours backstage, yet Tulisa seems to just claim Misha is lying and was bullying people without clearly saying this was just through her acts accounts which could have been informed by the same hearsay backstage Misha is talking about. Yet again, Tulisa came across as abrasive and just can’t find it in her not to just immediately assume the worst of Misha. Sorry seems to be the hardest word for sure. You played into racial stereotypes whether you intentionally did or not. The fact you have black friends doesn’t excuse the fact that you shamed a young black woman of 19 for being “over-confident” and “aggressive”.

Edited June 16, 20205 yr by Davidson

I'm not too surprised at all this unfortunately, it seems like the producers took a few backstage rumours and wanted to run with it for the sake of a quick headline whether it was true or not, watching the clip back, it really does seem so staged and scripted. I think it was racially motivated even if not consciously as we've seen with Keisha Buchanan, it's really easy to paint the confident black girl as the 'bully'.

 

I watched it at the time for entertainment, but it is a really, really toxic show at its heart that will manipulate anything that doesn't fit their chosen narrative and will get them the most attention. It's all so easy to see through and it's why I'm super cautious of reality TV because it clearly has no regard for their own contestant's mental health. I do hope this makes people more aware not only of racial profiling by media but also of reality TV in general and how toxic it can be.

Tulisa is absolute scum.

This is an interesting dichotomy. Whether Tulisa is a racist or not the key issue here is that Misha was racially profiled by the show and the media and Tulisa helped to instigate gate publicly. I just think the entire show is scripted for these malleable judges and they are told what opinions to have. It's the same with Drag Race too and all talent shows I'm sure. This was a narrative the producers wanted to run with and unfortunately I think it is deeply rooted in insidious racism.

100% and like I said, she was very determined and focused which was not the storyline they created for her and that meant they had to be more creative and forceful with it. Tulisa as the new judge was a perfect vessel. She may not be racist, but she did easily play into their storyline without so much as questioning it or standing up to something that was wrong. If she realised now and apologised, then fine, but to still to this day do a half arsed video that basically amounts to "I'm sorry Misha felt that way" really does not do her any favours. White people are so defensive about race issues, nobody is saying she's in the KKK, but she was implicit in the racial profiling and pigeonholing the show decided was Misha's path, and as the privileged party in this whole discussion, the least a white person can do is acknowledge and take responsibility for that and educate themselves, learn from it and grow. Saying "I can't be racist because xyz" makes me think she's done none of that!

Tulisa is absolutely in no way a racist! But that video is terrible and isn’t really showing her in a good light same as Kitty’s video as well to be fair.

 

They both should’ve either said nothing or really thought of what is they wanted to address and waited a little while before responding.

I don’t think Tulisa in the slightest is racist, her social group and friends and family all have different ethnic backgrounds. I actually feel quite bad for her, she’s apologised for calling her out public but as she stated she called out a lot of X factor contestants who were white too? But because she called out a black person on stories that her acts were coming to her with, she’s being called racist? It’s such a serious allegation to throw around.

I don’t think Tulisa in the slightest is racist, her social group and friends and family all have different ethnic backgrounds. I actually feel quite bad for her, she’s apologised for calling her out public but as she stated she called out a lot of X factor contestants who were white too? But because she called out a black person on stories that her acts were coming to her with, she’s being called racist? It’s such a serious allegation to throw around.

I don't think she's racist either and no one on here has really said she is, but she did go along with a 'plot' if you like which played up to racist stereotypes. I'd have more respect if she just held her hands up and said yes I was told by the producers to say Misha was a cow (like Gary said) I do like Tulisa but this is messed up.

Tulisa has responded in a video on Instagram

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Her video imo is a load of crap. Misha apparently done 'things' backstage to your acts explain these things now was your chance and moment to explain and you gave us nothing. Also the fact she had to throw in that her dad was born and raised in Congo at the end to justify her not being called a rasict by people ... (and the fact she posted this at this time of night when most people are asleep right now girl this was not it !

I turned it off 30 seconds in right after she says "I'm sorry that she feels...".

 

I hate when they turn off comments on social media in these situations. Just dump your half-arsed apology and mute any criticism. Such a mature "emotionally intelligent" way of handling the situation.

 

Re: the bolded part. EXACTLY! Producers of a reality TV show stirring the pot and making contestants cry?! THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. SUPER EVER. LIKE EVER EVER. VERY EVER.

 

I'm very much on Misha's side and when I watched the season I never really understood the backlash. Reality TV shows like X Factor are garbage and Misha really has nothing to gain from this drama, 10 years after appearance.

Twitter is going wild for calling her a racist!

 

Has any X Factor contestants from her year came out and defended her?

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Twitter is going wild for calling her a racist!

 

Has any X Factor contestants from her year came out and defended her?

 

Not from what I’ve seen on Twitter but then Johnny Robinson seems to mainly retweet anti BLM stuff so I wouldn’t expect much from him!

Janet Devlin backed Misha during the livestream

 

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