Thousands sign petition to remove Honey G from The X Factor
More than 8,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Samantha Atkinson to be reinstated in this year’s X Factor competition and for the removal of controversial act Honey G from the Over 25’s category.
Atkinson missed out on a place in the live shows after mentor Sharon Osbourne decided that she couldn’t take her through, despite delivering a strong vocal performance at last week’s Judges Houses round.
Many viewers of the show have since called for a boycott of next week’s live shows because one of Sharon’s final three was Honey G (real name Anna Georgette Gilford), an act that has been labelled a “novelty” by some critics.
Twitter: Honey G- X Factor 2016 @MrsSOsbourne @TheXFactor @TheXFactorUSA @XtraFactorLIVE @XtraFactor https://t.co/74yau0yoSn (@The_Honey_G)
The petition was set up by Yasemin Kara, Atkinson’s cousin. Atkinson has distanced herself from the appeal, telling BBC Radio Humberside that Honey G “deserves her right to be in the competition as much as anyone else.”
The petition reads: “Samantha Atkinson is my cousin and I and thousands of other X factor viewers feel she was robbed of her place on live shows tonight, when Sharon Osbourne gave Honey G one of them places in final 12.”
The show has yet to comment on the petition or the swapping of any acts ahead of this weekend’s first live show.