MANILA, Philippines — "X-Factor" alums and Irish identical twins John and Edward Grimes, or more popularly known as Jedward, spoke out against Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment in a series of tweets yesterday.
The duo opened a floodgate of tweets and interactions when they tweeted: "The biggest regret in life was not telling the judges on Xfactor to fuck off."
It came with a series of tweets that included mentions of boybands and allegations of how Syco and the talent show "X-Factor" allegedly treated contestants and their talents.
"Every contestant on the Xfactor was a slave to the show and got paid Zero while they made millions," wrote Jedward.
The Biggest regret in life was not telling the judges on Xfactor to fuck off ??
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
Every contestant on the Xfactor was a slave to the show and got paid Zero while they made millions!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
The tweets also directly mentioned One Direction (1D) and Little Mix.
"Simon Cowell thinks he's the Mafia leader of the music industry when in reality he's nothing but a bad facelift," one tweet read.
Simon Cowell thinks he’s the Mafia leader of the music industry when in reality he’s nothing but a bad facelift ??
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
His next post read, "There's a reason Syco is called Psycho! 1D and Little Mix are legally fucked in contracts and can never speak out so we are!"
There’s a reason Syco is called Psycho! 1D and Little Mix are legally fucked in contracts and can never speak out so we are!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
Jedward next revealed how the management allegedly "dictates" the every move "from relationship to how they live their own lives" and ending the tweet with "Justice for 1D & Little Mix."
The duo also revealed how they were mistakenly sent with the 1D contract. They said they are aware that posting of contracts can end up in court but they sent a shoutout to the members of 1D, composed of Niall Horran, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, for being "survivors."
Legally posting contracts online is gonna end up in court but we’ve known for many years the situation! Niall! Liam! Louis! Zayn! Harry! You’re survivors ??
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
"This isn't our story to tell! It's an insight of how corrupt the music industry is! We're sending courage & strength to all artists being fucked over! It ends now," Jedward tweeted.
This isn’t our story to tell! It’s an insight of how corrupt the music industry is! We’re sending courage & strength to all artists being fucked over! It ends now ??????????????????
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
Their succeeding tweets revealed that eating disorders and depression are "very common in the music industry" because "nobody cares about the artist's mental health! only the money!"
Eating disorders and depression are very common in the music industry and it’s cuz nobody cares about the artist’s mental health! only the money!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 5, 2021
Jedward also alleged that when artists ask too much questions, they are seen as "a threat and are blacklisted and are not given the radio/PR." They also alleged the amount of cover-up stories and hired media to destroy an artist as well as security being hired like "babysitters" to watch and report to the management.
They also said that the management controls the narrative in interviews, which had questions that were pre-screened. Artists cannot go off-script because there would be consequences and most interview final edits are approved by the label before publication.
Jedward also revealed that non-disclosure agreements or NDAs are prevalent in the industry, "resulting in no one talking about the abuse/stuff that happens!"
Non-Disclosure Agreements NDA’s are very prevalent in the music industry! Resulting in no one talking about the abuse/stuff that happens!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 6, 2021
"Just here casually waiting for lawyers to come threatening us! Good luck from the whole fandom. Justice is gonna be served!" another tweet reads.
Just here casually waiting for the Lawyers to come threatening us! Good Luck from the whole fandom ?? Justice is gonna be served!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 6, 2021
They followed it up with "You can't silence the truth! Nobody can drag me down!"
You can’t silence the truth! Nobody can drag me down! ????????
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 6, 2021
One of their tweets was a screencap of their conversation with Louis Tomlinson on March 18, 2021. The message read: "Doing JEPIC," which came with a thumbs up sign. Jedward captioned it, "High on life."
High on life ?? pic.twitter.com/55aOAOUvdl
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 6, 2021
According to them, other artists are afraid to speak out for fear of losing job offers.
We were offered $70,000 to do Xfactor All Stars but Syco were too cheap to actual make the show we definitely won't be asked now! Other Xfactor stars are silent to the machine in fear of not getting the job!
— JEDWARD (@planetjedward) April 6, 2021
Simon Cowell has yet to release a statement or respond to the tweets. His last tweet on his verified Twitter (@SimonCowell) was last March 1 about him looking forward to filming the latest season of "America's Got Talent."
The hashtags #SimonCowell, #Justicefor1D, #JusticeforFifthHarmony and #JusticeforLittleMix trended on Twitter Philippines when Jedward started the series of tweets on Tuesday.
One Direction is currently a four-member band with the exception of Malik who left the group in 2015.
Fifth Harmony was formed during the second season of the American version of "X-Factor." It currently is a quartet with Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui after Camila Cabello left the group in 2016.
Little Mix was formed in 2011 in the eighth season of the United Kingdom's version of "The X-Factor." It is now a trio with Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock after Jesy Nelson left the group in December last year.