X Factor voters are racists: Actor Chris O'Dowd

Viewers of the X Factor have been branded racist because they never vote for the best black singers, a Hollywood star has claimed.

Irish actor Chris O’Dowd said he was a big fan of the ITV reality show, but accused viewers of discriminating against black contestants by voting them out in round five every year.

His comments – which come after a series of X Factor contestants complained they were exposed to racist abuse after appearing on the show – prompted campaigners to call for more protection to be given to those who appear on the show.

The 34-year-old, who is known for his starring roles in hit sitcom The IT Crowd and romantic comedy Bridesmaids, told the Radio Times: ‘I’m a big X Factor fan. Generally my favourites go out in the first few weeks and, of course, because the viewing public is so racist, all the black, strong singers go out in round five every year.’

Two of the X Factor’s past winners, Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, are mixed race while the boyband JLS which was runner-up to Burke are black and the show has featured many black contestants.

But it has also been hit by a series of complaints that ethnic minority singers are discriminated against as they reach the later stages of the competition.

One of the favourites to win last year’s series, 17-year-old Hannah Barrett, complained she faced a barrage of online abuse about her colour before she was voted off in the seventh week.

She had to compete in a sing-off three times before her eviction because she received such a low number of public votes.

Reflecting on her experience, she said: ‘I’ve received a lot of horrible, racist comments on Twitter. People say I’m too dark to be a singer. People say, ‘You’re black and ugly’, nasty things like that.

‘The sad thing is most of them are made by black people who just have lighter skin than me. I’m just like, "Whatever". I know they are talking rubbish.’

Meanwhile boy band Rough Copy, who made it to week nine of last year’s competition, also claimed they faced online abuse from viewers.

Singer Kazeem Ajob said he was described as a ‘monkey’ online, while his bandmate Joey Thomas said: ‘Someone said on Twitter, “You black ***** can’t even sing – you should get off X Factor”’.

In 2011, another show favourite, 19-year-old Misha Bryan, sparked a race row after she was evicted in the semi-finals.

Many attributed her failure to win to the fact she was accused of bullying other contestants by judges Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos.

But some commentators said she was a victim of racism. One, Erica Sebastian, said: ‘African and African Caribbean people are a minority in this country, so in order to win, you’ve got to appeal to the masses. This means less keeping it real and more keeping it bland — like chicken korma.’

Another campaigner, Paul Boakye, said at the time that 2006 winner Miss Lewis was only able to win because she was not black but ‘international beige’.

And he claimed 2008 winner Miss Lewis only succeeded because her popular show mentor Cheryl Cole supported her so strongly. 

He said: ‘All manner of attempts were made throughout the series to persuade us that we were really voting for Cheryl Cole, our new English Rose, to win the competition between judges that year.’

Yesterday, Mediawatch-UK director Vivienne Pattison said the X Factor’s creators could not be held responsible for the reactions of viewers towards contestants.

But she added: ‘There does need to be a debate around what sort of controls we put on Twitter, because appearing on a show like this can expose you to a lot of vitriol and it is easier than ever for vile abuse to be written about you anonymously online.

‘It could be that we need to protect contestants more from this type of material, even if there is nothing the producers can do about the votes that are cast.’

Last night an X Factor source said: ‘The X Factor has a long standing record of celebrating a diverse range of artists including two former winners, Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, and numerous others who have reached the final stages of the competition including this year’s semi-finalists Rough Copy, along with JLS, Marcus Collins and Jahmene Douglas in previous series.’

Alasdair Glennie