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X Factor finalist Chris Maloney has begged Twitter users to end their torrents of abuse against him, after becoming recent revelations suggested he had been unpleasant to work with while on the show.
The Liverpudlian crooner, who was voted off suring Saturday's final, also said he was unwell and blamed a chest infection for his absence from the X Factor Wrap party.
"Plz stop online abuse," he tweeted. "All I done was follow my dream, coming 3rd was an achievement. feel gutted I didn't win and im unwell right now, plz xx."
Maloney has been a controversial figure throught the later stages of this year's X Factor, with several contestants calling him a fake and saying he 'wears a mask' when the cameras are on him.
Recently several former contestants took to Twitter to call for Maloney to be replaced by Kye Sones for the show's arena tour next year.
The other contestants, including Ella Henderson and Rylan Clarke, are furious at Maloney after he stormed out of rehearsals upon learning that he only had one line in the group song.
He draw still more wrath from contestants and the public when it emerged that he had allegedly called Carolynne Poole a c***.
The arena tour is said to earn each performer up to £100,000 each, so Maloney won't be happy about the prospect of being dropped.
But following the other contestants' twitter posts the show's bosses are concerned about how he'll interact with other contestants.
Chris Maloney performing on X Factor
An insider told The Sun they were 90 per cent sure he wouldn't be on the tour.
But Maloney may still be offered a record deal, if not by Cowell then by someone else.
The insider said: Chris and shown how popular he is by winning the vote on the first seven shows.
"If you targeted and album of covers around Mothers' Day then it could sell."
Runner-up Ella Henderson and finalist Union J are both expected to be offered deals by Cowell.
Below: The Maloney Files - a series worth of X Factor gossip
