Misha B’s X Factor co-star Janet Devlin defends singer and insists there were OTHER bullies on show

Janet Devlin has spoken out to defend her X Factor co-star Misha B, in light of her recent claims that she was wrongfully accused of bullying.

The 25-year-old singer, who appeared alongside Misha, 28, on the show back in 2011, has revealed that she was ‘upset’ when the Birmingham native was accused by judge Tulisa Contostavlos of tormenting other contestants.

And in an interview on FUBAR Radio’s Access All Areas, Janet has also insisted that there were other bullies on set during their time on the ITV show.

She told hosts Joanna Chimonides and Stephen Leng of Misha: ‘When I look back, I’m like, that’s a ready-made artist. That girl knows who she is, knows what she wants, writes her own songs, what’s going on?

‘I definitely remember being very upset when they accused her of being a bully. Obviously for the fact that it’s like, I knew who was bullying that year.

‘I was like, “You’ve got the wrong guy. Stop!” That was heartbreaking, obviously, to see. Like I said, she was one of the good guys.’

Janet went on to describe her own relationship with Misha during her appearance on the show, saying: ‘We were really good friends and I loved her to pieces.

‘And the reason why I loved her was she was like, out of everybody there, all she wanted to do was lift people up and support them…

‘I loved her and she always stood up for me, which I appreciated because I was so afraid of everything I was constantly having panic attacks.

‘I couldn’t speak up for myself and she spoke for me sometimes. I frickin’ love her to death for that for my whole life.

‘And then to find out how she saw her experience on the show as well, I didn’t know that she was also suicidal during the show. I never would have thought that.

‘The biggest annoyance for me during that show was always, why is she in the bottom two when she’s like the best vocalist here?

‘She’s actually doing something different. She’s rapping on songs which is oruginal content, like why aren’t people getting this? It used to frustrate me so hard because I was her biggest fan. It just bothered me.

‘I didn’t think much of the possibility of it being racially motivated, but I think that was naivety. I literally came from a small town in Ireland and got thrown on the television.

‘I’d never really seen racial issues because of the lack of diversity and races where I come from… So I didn’t even think to see it that way and that’s my own naivety.

‘I just remember being annoyed with people saying “you’re so feisty, you’re so this, you’re so that”. It’s called a stage persona!’ 

Janet’s interview comes after Tulia apologised to Misha B for accusing her of bullying behaviour while she was a judge on the show. 

The singer, 31, took to Instagram on Tuesday to issue a statement, in which she vehemently denied her criticism was racially motivated but understands the ‘pain I caused’. 

Last Sunday, Misha, who was just 19 when she starred on the X Factor in 2011, shared a tense clip with Tulisa, before accusing the show of scripting a ‘bullying storyline’ which left her feeling suicidal. 

During the third live show, judges Tulisa and Louis Walsh accused Misha of being a bully, calling her ‘feisty’, ‘over-confident’ and ‘mean’.   

Tulisa, who had previously hit back at Misha’s ‘ludicrous’ racism claims, wrote a lengthy apology on Tuesday: ‘It’s been hard to find the words of know whether to speak at all, but I don’t want to leave things on the note of my last post,’ she said.

‘I can see clearly that a black female was and is still hurt by my actions on The X Factor. That became overshadowed in my mind last week.’

The N Dubz hitmaker said she ‘jumped to defence mode’ after she faced death threats from trolls following Misha’s accusations.   

Tulisa continued: ‘I fully acknowledge the pain I caused and fully accept people should be angry about it. I can state again there was nothing racial in my thought process. 

‘When I referred to Misha as being feisty and competitive that was a reflection of myself because I saw myself in Misha.

‘We are both very strong women and when I communicate with people I always jump to what I have in common to find a basis to connect. 

 ‘However, I totally understand that it made Misha feel a certain way, as a young black girl hearing it from a young white girl on a huge platform, living in the oppressed society we do, full of racial slurs and undertones, not knowing my thought process.

‘This I can only acknowledge, apologise for, hold my hands up and say I’m truly sorry. It was something I did not understand at the time. I made a mistake and completely take on board how that mistake has been viewed.’

The songstress explained she called Misha out on air because her ‘instant reaction was to fight back’ and that it wasn’t racially motivated, it was because one of Tulisa’s contestants had cried before the show over an accusation Misha had made.   

‘I let my emotions get in the way of my work and I didn’t stop to think of the consequences for you, Misha, at the age of 18, immediate or long term,’ Tulisa said.

‘I was 22, I didn’t have guidance and I’d been given the most powerful platform in the industry at the time. I had a huge responsibility that I clearly wasn’t ready for in those circumstances.

‘If I could go back in time, I would have pulled you aside, spoken about the issues, then probably opened up about my own issues and we would have had an open and honest dialogue and maybe found some common ground in our upbringings. 

‘That’s what I would do now and that’s the person I am today. I don’t have many regrets, but I regret what happened with us. All my other mistakes only affected me, I can live with that. But that mistake affected you. 

Tulisa said she thought of reaching out Misha ‘many times over the years’ and it was a mistake she didn’t. The singer ended the post by wishing Misha all the success and love for the future. 

Last week, Misha claimed X Factor producers told the judges to accuse her of bullying other contestants, leading to Tulisa and Louis calling her ‘feisty’ ‘over-confident’ and ‘mean,’ live on air.  

‘I could feel Louis was on verbal violence. Louis has then said something about me being confident, but then he says maybe I’m too over confident.

‘Let me just make this very clear, these judges spent a maximum of 1 per cent time with me and their contestants, apart from Gary [Barlow] and Kelly [Rowland],’ Misha said during an Instagram live.

Misha continued: ‘My understanding is you created this whole narrative of me being over confident because I’m black and in your eyes black girls should not be confident, black girls are just one off.’   

Misha accused Tulisa of having ‘every line scripted before she even opened up her mouth’. 

”Feisty’ she threw, followed by ‘mean,’ common words used to describe black women. This woman spent zero time with me,’ Misha claimed, adding that the next day both Tulisa and Louis apologised.

‘The only conversation this woman [Tulisa] had with me was after this happened when she gave me a halfhearted apology.’

Misha said she felt like ‘my whole world stopped,’ after the incident live on air, before she went backstage and cried. Later, the singer said she had suicidal thoughts, telling her fans:

‘When all those allegations happened … I remember of thinking up ways to end my own life. I remember of thinking up ways that I could end the pain. That was the first the in my whole life I ever felt suicidal.’  

As spokesperson for X Factor told MailOnline: ‘We are very concerned to hear Misha’s comments regarding her experience on The X Factor in 2011…

‘We are currently looking into this matter and are reaching out to Misha to discuss the important issues she has raised. The welfare of contestants is our priority and we are committed to diversity and equality.’