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The latest news in the unfolding Chris Maloney/X Factor saga is that the contestant is apparently way ahead of everyone else in the phone votes.
Chris is the most popular contestant when it comes to votes, despite the fact that no one on the show really seems to like him all that much.
And Simon Cowell isn't happy about this, as he's reportedly worried about another Steve Brookstein style embarrassment. According to The Sun, sources are saying that he's trying to get Christopher kicked off the show before he wins it.
A series insider told the paper, "Chris is getting double the votes of anyone else. It’s a shame because he’s so sweet. They’re determined to get him kicked off the show. It’s crazy.
"The show is in a spin and Cowell is really panicking. They will be trying anything now to get people to not like this guy."
Chris has been said to have topped the phone votes in the first couple of weeks of the show, but weekly votes are not officially released until the series is over.
Chris Maloney, performing live on The X Factor.
Ironically, rejected contestant Kye Sones hit out at Chris this week, saying "f**k knows" who's voting for him.
Kye, who left the show last weekend, took the oppportunity to slam Christopher and definitely didn't hold back with his comments. Speaking to The Sun, Kye admitted that he thinks Christopher is completely fake and a different person when the cameras are on him.
Christopher has been accused of this before, with a source saying previously that his fellow contestants believe that Christopher's nerves are 'over the top' and 'fake'.
But Kye was a lot more specific, saying, "All of us have got really close and then you've got Chris. We've been a really strong group and he's been an outsider - and that's nothing to do with any of us lot.
"He's very tactical. There are two different people - one when cameras are there and one when they're not there. Everyone is the same person off and on camera, apart from Chris - and that's why it's frustrating for all the contestants."
When asked how Christopher managed to stay out of the bottom two, Kye responded, "God knows. He must have an expensive phone bill!"
Below, watch Maloney perform on the third week of X Factor's live finals
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