Katie Waissel has taken aim at Simon Cowell in the wake of Liam Payne’s death, saying that the X Factor judge would be “a fool” to respond to the One Direction star’s tragic passing.
The statement from Waissel, who appeared as a contestant on the same season of the show that catapulted Payne to stardom, came as X Factor announced that it would cancel a taping of the show out of respect for the late singer. While Cowell — the staple judge on the reality show who first assembled the members of One Direction back in 2010 — has yet to issue a statement about Payne’s death, X Factor itself said it was “heartbroken” by the news and remembered Payne as leaving “a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans.”
Waissel was a friend of Payne’s as well as being a fellow X Factor contestant, and in the years since competing, she has frequently criticized both Cowell and the show for exploiting young artists. These tensions led to Waissel mentioning Cowell in her post on X, saying that if the judge “dares [to] put a statement out” about Payne’s death, “he would be a fool.”
“We all know the truth,” she wrote, “and I’ll be sure it all comes out.” Waissel’s grievances with Cowell went as far as her pivoting from her music career to become a lawyer, with the intent of suing Cowell and his music label Syco Entertainment for what she believes are unfair contacts that exploit artists.
In a separate statement, Waissel remembered Payne as having “a pure heart, a sharp mind, and the wisdom of an old soul,” before again leveling accusations that Cowell focused on profits over people. She said that Cowell and the label — to which Payne was also signed — treat artists like “commodities” and that this “negligence of duty of care has once again led to a heart-wrenching loss.”
Waissel went on to reference a controversial interview Cowell gave earlier this year, in which he expressed regret for not keeping the rights to the One Direction name so he could make spinoff projects without their permission. “The real regret should be the failure to prioritize the emotional and physical welfare of the artists who put their trust in these institutions,” Waissel said.
Waissel was joined in her sentiment by Rebecca Ferguson, a fellow X Factor contestant who has likewise pursued legal action against Cowell in the years since competing on the show. In her own reaction to Payne’s death, Ferguson reiterated accusations of “exploitation and profiteering” at the hands of X Factor, saying she believed Payne would “still be alive” if he hadn’t auditioned for the show all those years ago.
This added to a long list of criticisms that Ferguson has leveled against X Factor over the years, with the singer previously slamming the show for its “abuse of power” and claiming she was forced into “contracts the size of a Bible.”
Waissel and Ferguson are among the legions of fans and musicians who have responded to Payne’s death, with Halsey, Ty Dolla $ign, Charlie Puth, and Zedd each sharing statements over the past day. For their part, Payne’s former bandmates Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson each delivered touching commemorations on social media, with remaining One Direction members Harry Styles and Niall Horan included in a joint message shared to the band’s social media.
