Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Nuray Bulbul

What did Jedward say about Louis Walsh?

Louis Walsh, who labelled John and Edward Grimes, popularly known as Jedward, "vile" during their time as participants on X Factor, has received backlash from the stars.

Speaking with Colson Smith in the Big Brother house on Tuesday (March 12), the 71-year-old former X Factor judge was questioned about his experience working with the Irish duo.And when he responded, “They were vile”, audiences were shocked.Walsh said: “They were vile, but they were great. I got £5m for them, I swear on my mother’s life.”

In 2009, the Irish duo Jedward competed in the sixth season of X Factor, finishing sixth behind winners Joe McElderry, Olly Murs, and Stacey Solomon.Walsh mentored them throughout his 13 seasons as a judge on the UK edition of X Factor, which also included Dannii Minogue, Simon Cowell, and Cheryl Cole as mentors and judges that year.

What did the pair have to say about Walsh’s comments?

They wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, moments after Walsh's comments aired: "Louis Walsh is a cold hearted b*****d who didn’t even send us flowers when our mom died."

The official Jedward account continued to tweet that they "fired" Louis after he "b*****d and talked about us".

Further tweets labelled him as a "vile manipulator" and “an absolute weirdo with bad intentions for all".

"All future acts should be made aware of what this VILE man is actually like," they wrote .Adding, "Louis reopened these wounds all by himself being spiteful and disrespectful. We won't have our character taken. Justice will be served".

Shortly after, their friend Gemma Collins, who used to be on The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE), shared a number of videos on her Instagram stories where they discussed Walsh.

Speaking to the camera with the Irish duo next to her, she said: “Louis, don’t be slagging off my boys. They’re not vile, they’re beautiful in every single way.”

The camera then turned to the twins: “I can’t believe we’re even watching you on the show, you’re like a cat with nine lives. How many times can you slag off your acts? It’s a disgrace.”

The Standard has contacted Louis Walsh for comment.

The former cast member of TOWIE claimed to be "upset" by Walsh's remarks about her friends, but she had nothing against him.

Collins later shared on Instagram: “They are the sweetest talented polite educated kind boys I’ve ever met hence why they are always in my company! TEAM JEDWARD!”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.