X Factor star Lucy Spraggan: ‘We need an industry shift… becoming famous overnight is a huge trauma’
X Factor star Lucy Spraggan is calling for an “industry shift” over the treatment of contestants on reality TV, labelling the resulting fame from appearing on such programmes “a huge trauma”.
The singer – who is now 31 – was just 20 years old when she appeared on the Simon Cowell talent show, and was a favourite to win, but left the competition after just a few weeks following a sexually assault.
While she withdrew from the show following the attack (for which a man – not connected with the show – was convicted and imprisoned), she has remained musically active, releasing music every two years, and now sharing her seventh album.
Making the decision to waive her anonymity (which is granted to all victims of sexual assault), Spraggan has gone on to call herself a “lucky victim,” adding: “I say I’m a lucky victim for many reasons, and one of which is to have a conviction. It’s not something that many people are afforded.”
Spraggan tells Sky News: “I am a completely different person… I’ve done a lot of healing the last 11 years”.
However, her early experiences on reality TV has inspired her to push for change. She says: “I think there needs be an industry shift in the way that we treat the mental health of participants on shows, on reality TV. Becoming famous, especially overnight, is a huge trauma. It’s really quite something.”
She says: “When I looked for the mental health help that I needed, I didn’t know where to look,” adding: “I want use my negative experience to build a better place for other people”.
She says she was inspired by the death of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, who took her own life in 2020, to write her memoir, Process, and there is also a song about the late star on her most recent album.
A friend of Flack’s, Spraggan says: “I remember hearing that she had died and just being so overwhelmed. I wondered what protocols and what procedures were in place to help somebody who quite clearly needed help at that time.”
Spraggan on the X Factor in 2012
Spraggan also says that while she’s been fortunate enough to have a successful music career after appearing on the show, others have been less lucky, and had to return to their former jobs, which she says is “not good for a person’s well-being,” adding: “I think after being exposed to fame like that, you need a little bit of help with your self-worth and work on validation”.
The singer is calling for a mental health pension scheme to be put in place for those working on reality TV – both on and off the screen – where production companies take a percentage of their budget which is then available for staff to access for mental health resources.
When approached by Sky News, ITV said in a statement: “We’ve evolved and improved these oversight procedures since the events in question and we are encouraged to hear that Thames [the production company behind X Factor] recognises the importance of continuous review and improvement of their own processes.
“We continue to evolve our own duty of care processes on programmes we produce to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to support contributors before, during and after filming.”
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Spraggan says she has opened up about her traumatic experiences in both her memoir and album in a bid to help others.
“I want people to see my story and say terrible things can happen, but we can get better, and we will feel better. And that’s what this whole thing is about. It’s a very positive message”.
Spraggan’s memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through, is available now, and her latest album, Balance, is released today.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Federal prosecutors in New York are urging a judge to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than 11 years in prison.
Following the hip-hop mogul’s conviction on prostitution-related charges, they also want him to be fined $500,000 (£372,000), according to court filings.
Last week, defence lawyers urged a 14-month sentence. Due to time served, that would enable him to walk free almost immediately – following his arrest in September last year.
But he could, in theory, face up to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of two counts of transportation for engagement in prostitution. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Judge Arun Subramanian, a US district judge, is due to sentence Combs in Manhattan on Friday.
Combs reacts after the verdicts are read in July
During his trial, prosecutors said Combs coerced two of his former girlfriends to take part in what were described as “freak offs”.
He was found guilty of transporting male prostitutes across state lines to take part in those events.
Both women testified that Combs physically attacked them and threatened to cut off financial support if they refused to take part.
However, while jurors believed Combs broke the law over using sex workers, they did not find the sexual encounters involving the women were non-consensual, which is what prosecutors had argued.
Combs was cleared of the more serious charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
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In a written legal submission, his defence team has detailed “inhumane” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
They said the food sometimes contains maggots, that the rapper is routinely subjected to violence, and that he has “not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months”.
They also said his “career and reputation have been destroyed”.
His legal team said Combs had been “adequately punished” already, was sober “for the first time in 25 years”, and had helped other inmates by creating an educational programme on business management and entrepreneurship.
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Harry Potter author JK Rowling hits out at Emma Watson in fresh clash over transgender issues
JK Rowling has accused Emma Watson of being “ignorant of how ignorant she is” amid their ongoing disagreement about transgender issues.
The Harry Potter films’ three central stars – Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint – have publicly backed the rights of transgender people in recent years, often distancing themselves from the author when asked about her in interviews.
Rowling, 60, has previously been accused of transphobia, which she denies.
Watson, 35, discussed her relationship with the writer on a podcast last week, telling host Jay Shetty: “I think it’s my deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with.”
Rowling has now shared a more than 600-word post on X in response to Watson, in which she states: “Like other people who’ve never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.”
JK Rowling in 2019. Pic: AP
The author went on to say the Hermione Granger actress is never going to need a homeless shelter or be placed on a mixed-sex public hospital ward.
The multimillionaire author said that “I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous” and therefore “understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women’s rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges”.
Rowling added that while she has found it “hard to shake off a certain protectiveness” towards the Harry Potter stars, who she has known since they were children, there was a “turning point” in her relationship with Watson in 2022.
She said this happened when Watson gave a Bafta speech saying “I’m here for all the witches”, which some saw as a criticism of the author’s beliefs on gender.
Emma Watson arrives at the Baftas in March 2022. Pic: Reuters
The actress then asked someone to deliver her a handwritten note saying “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through”, the author claimed on X.
This came at a time “when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak” and “Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames”, Rowling said.
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Watson has often publicly disagreed with Rowling.
In 2020, she was one of several Harry Potter stars who showed their support for the trans community when the author shared a series of divisive posts online.
“I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are,” the actress wrote at the time.
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