Misha B speaks out about racism on The X Factor nine years on

Misha B has spoken out about the racism she experienced on The X Factor, claiming a “scripted interaction” with the judges left her feeling suicidal.

Speaking on Instagram Live, Misha said another contestant had spread rumours about her to Louis Walsh and fellow contestants, including Little Mix.

The singer said she felt “coldness” from everyone while filming the series and accused Tulisa of scripting the criticisms of Misha widely believed to have curtailed her popularity on the show. She said: “I am not fooled. I know what it is here. I know exactly what it is here. And, you see, back in 2011 they got away with it. They got away with so much shit.”

Misha appeared on The X Factor nine years ago, aged 19, but found herself making headlines after Louis Walsh accused her of bullying a fellow contestant.

Fellow judge Tulisa told the 19-year-old she came across as “fiesty” and “mean.” Tabloids would go on to dub her Misha Bully.

Misha claims after hearing the rumours she requested a chat with Little Mix. She said: “One of the girls, I think it might have been Jesy, said: ‘You’ve been saying Leigh-Anne has ‘evil eyes’ and you don’t think we’re gonna win and we’re shit singers’.

“I was like, wow, first of all, let’s get this clear, I have no energy to be focussing on anybody else when I have so much at stake here. It is not in my character to want to tear another sister down.”

Kelly Rowland, Misha’s mentor during the show, took her aside and they two prayed together. Misha said she noticed “bad vibes” coming from Tulia and Louis following her performance that week.

“Let me get just this very clear. These judges spent a maximum of one per cent time with me and their contestants, apart from Gary and Kelly,” she said.

“So my understanding is you’ve created this whole narrative of me being overconfident because I’m black. And in your eyes, black girls should not be confident. Black girls are just ‘one of’ – ‘You look like a young Tina Turner, you’re like a young Chaka Khan’. Why can I not just look like me? Why is it always you looking like someone else? Why is it always a comparison for black women?”

Concerning Tulisa’s comments, Misha said the judge “had every line scripted before she even opened her mouth.”

“Feisty, she threw, followed by mean,” she said. “Now I know that I am not the only one here that has heard those words. ‘Feisty’, ‘mean’. These are like the common words that people use to describe black women. She then went on to say something along the lines of ‘seeing that some of the things that I say could come across as mean’.

“Let me get one thing clear, this woman has spent zero time with me. The only conversation this woman had with me was after this all happened when she gave me a very half-arsed apology. Not the words ‘I’m sorry’, but ‘I never meant to do you no harm’. The damage is done bruv. The damage is done.”

Misha said she then considered taking her own life, explaining: “You don’t even know. I remember thinking of ways I could just end the pain. We arrived back at the mansion and all I could think about was running away, just getting out of there.

“Because to me, people stood by and didn’t say anything, or a damn thing when they knew it was wrong and they knew it was lies.”

Misha told followers she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the series’ conclusion.

“What I didn’t understand was that that experience, that trauma, had changed me as a person. It changed me. I didn’t trust anyone,” she said.

“Everyone asks me, ‘Misha, where have you been? What’s been going on?’ I’ve been battling. I’ve been healing. I’ve been working on self. I started therapy in 2012. I’m still having therapy now.

“Shout out to all my therapists, you’re the greatest honestly. If it wasn’t for your patience, kindness, understanding and your services, life would be very different right now. You’d be looking at a different Misha B right now.”

Representatives for Tulisa and Louis Walsh have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated with any statement they make today.

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Featured image via Instagram (@iammisha_b)