On a recently aired episode of “The X Factor New Zealand” two judges decided to basically bully one contestant, without any apparent reason besides the fact that – according to Natalia Kills (one of the judges in question) and her husband and fellow judge Willy Moon – he was copying Mr. Willy Moon’s style. Yes, this is no joke; two grown-up and “successful” singers attacked a contestant they are supposed to help with their constructive criticism just because he “copied” one of them.

The contestant in question, Joe Irvine, simply stood there and took the “criticism” from the two judges with a humble smile while Kills called him “disgusting” and “creepy” and then Moon said he reminded him of “Norman Bates dressed in his mother’s clothing”. As a result of this shameful event, both Natalia Kills and her husband Willy Moon were fired from the show.

First of all, I think it is quite clear that Natalia Kills and her whole “dark pop” image based on her supposedly “not-too-pleasant childhood” and her terrible teenage years – including her leaving her home at 15, setting her ex-boyfriend’s apartment on fire and joining a religious cult – is simply a cheap excuse to cover for a truly sad and awful human being. On the other hand, her now husband singer Willy Moon was recently accused of calling a woman the “C word” and repeating the offense on Twitter.

I don’t believe in judging other people because we don’t truly know other people’s burdens and personal journeys, but when it comes to this type of cruel attacks without any sensible or reasonable argument behind it, it is quite hard not to judge. What I find most alarming and important to discuss is that this behavior seems to be natural and normal for these “artists” and the industry has supported that by making them judges of a show that is supposed to discover and nurture talent.

The poor boy was there singing “Cry Me a River” by Michael Bublé – a man who’s known for his perfectly tailored suits and gelled hair – and this woman’s thoughts at that moment were not about Irvine’s vocal capacities, but about how this 25-year-old was wearing the most standard type of clothing in the music industry for male classic jazz – soul singers, “copying” her husband. I’m sorry but I do not understand how this “songstress” is qualified to be a judge on a show like this, and I won’t even bother to talk about her husband because honestly I had never even heard of him before this past week.

The issue is not that they bullied this young man; it is that they were allowed to do so by the producers ignoring their behavioral background and considering them fit to judge others simply because of their “fame”.

Nowadays “bullying” is a topic discussed around the world and is even considered to be an epidemic in countries like the United States, but I think it is time to extend this discussion to the many TV and Radio networks that produce thousands of Reality TV shows that put aggressive people under the spotlight as prestigious artists to criticize and judge the talent of up and coming artists without thinking about the impact this has on the audience and our culture.

Ms. Kills told Irvine “You are a laughing stock. It’s cheesy, it’s disgusting” and that she was “embarrassed to be sitting here, in your presence, having to even dignify you with an answer of my opinion”. Well, I hope the networks are learning a lesson with this tragic episode because I think we all were absolutely embarrassed to be watching such degrading and unacceptable actions by two so-called artists.