The X Factor NZ has been caught up in a controversy over a convicted killer that auditioned on the show.
Shae Brider auditioned for X Factor and was featured on the show on Tuesday night. Introducing himself, he recalled his troubled past and disclosed that he spent six years in prison.
“I met some dudes and we went to a bonfire ... there was a commotion with two of them and one of them stabbed the other one and he ended up passing away, he said.”
TV3 has apologised for any distress caused and defended including Brider on The X Factor NZ, saying he deserved a second chance to make a positive contribution and has “paid his debt to society”.
The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive argued that “it does seem vaguely irresponsible to allow Brider to talk about that apocalyptic night in such throwaway terms without balancing the ledger a little with some reference to what actually happened.”
Court reports of the events state that Brider, Rawiri Hatata, Rio Hartley and Jordan Aranui went on a violent spree, attacking four people before 16-year-old Jeremy Frew was stabbed by Hatata and died. Brider was found guilty of manslaughter.
Donna Travers, the mother of the boy killed, lashed out at X Factor producers, saying that his appearance on the show left her “devastated” and felt she had been revictimised, reports NZ Herald.
“I want a national apology, not on Facebook or in the newspaper, but a national apology on the television saying they should have got their facts right, she said.”