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Nicole Scherzinger has expressed sympathy for X Factor contestant Rylan Clark after he suffered the same sort of threats from the public as she did last year.
Scherzinger, who is mentoring Clark, was shocked to hear about the death threats he had received since appearing on the ITV talent show this year. Speaking on Daybreak, Scherzinger said: ‘It breaks my heart.’. Adding: ‘Last year, I had death threats on X Factor USA. It kind of ruined me. I told them (the producers) I didn’t wanna leave my room.’
Elaborating on her own experiences with online abuse, Nicole added how: ‘It really frightened and scared me when I got death threats. It upsets me to hear that Rylan had to go through that... to read some of the comments that he has had. I didn’t know people could conjure up such thoughts... so hateful.
‘So I just have to say a prayer for people like that. It’s not positive. These are just ignorant, uneducated people.’
Rylan has spoken of the online hate he has received after rising to fame on the talent show. “I’ve had death threats, I’ve been told I’m going to be bottled and my face sliced open," says the X Factor finalist. “At times it has killed me and it’s disgusting – some of these people act like I’m a murderer. It has made going out in public quite daunting.”
He also spoke of his mother's reaction to the threats, saying: "My mum’s not silly, she knows not everyone will like me." “But reading comments threatening to break into my house and firebomb me would shock anyone.”
Rylan joins James Arthur and Jahmene Douglas in the boys category in this year's X Factor finals after the three were chosen by Nicole Scherzinger for the live shows, which begin next weekend.
