Frankie Cocozza
During series eight in 2011, bad boy Frankie Cocozza was booted off the show after boasting about using cocaine. At the time he said: “My life during the show has gone out of control and my behaviour off stage has over-stepped the rules of the competition.”
But he later saw the funny side. In 2013, during former judge Tulisa’s own drugs scandal, Frankie tweeted: “I did NOT get my cocaine from Tulisa.”
Following his axing, Frankie released the song She’s Got A Motorcycle. Check out the video below:
Cheryl gets the boot
Okay… so Cheryl didn’t get sacked from the UK version, but it’s too scandalous not to include in this list.
Geordie Cheryl proudly handed her notice in to the UK show and trotted off to America to make her mark on the US panel. Except she didn’t.
After showing up in THAT outfit for the first day of auditions (the orange, the purple, the HAIR!), Simon dumped her in favour of Nicole Scherzinger, muttering something about Cheryl’s accent being too hard to understand.
Surely he knew what she sounded like before he hired her? Anyway, Cheryl took legal action, Simon was forced to admit he’d been wrong and now she’s back to being Queen Bee on the UK show.
Tulisa's controversies
Poor Tulisa. Her X Factor career started so well. She managed to mentor Little Mix to become the first group to win the show, in her debut year as a judge in 2011 – but then it all went downhill…
In 2012 her ex-boyfriend Justin ‘MC Ultra’ Edwards released an intimate tape featuring the former N-Dubz singer, and other controversies followed.
She’s yet to be re-hired as a judge.
Dannii Minogue and Simon Cowell’s ‘romance’
The scandal! In 2012 we found out that love affairs aren’t just for the contestants.
Biographer Tom Bower released a book called Sweet Revenge, and in it he claimed Simon had once confessed his love for fellow judge Dannii Minogue.
He wrote that Simon told him: “I had a crush. It was her hair, the sexy clothes and the t*ts. I was like a schoolboy… It was genuine love.”
Dannii apparently isn’t holding a grudge and, although she’s never referenced the apparent declaration of love, she has since thanked Simon for ‘teaching me to say what I really think’.
Gamu-gate
Oh Gamu-gate – how could we forget it? Cheryl did herself NO favours when, despite a pitch perfect audition, she sent Gamu packing.
Instead, former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl put through train wreck Katie Waissel and Cher Lloyd, who failed to sing at all during her judges’ houses audition.
So you can see why the audience got MAD, can’t you? Cheryl tried to defend herself, saying at the time: “I went by my gut instinct and I thought my decision was best.”
Things went from bad to worse for poor Gamu, because after Cheryl kicked her off the show she was almost deported back to her home country of Ghana.
Nicole Scherzinger 'DRUNK on TV'
During Disco Week in 2013, Nicole Scherzinger sparked rumours she was drunk when she appeared ‘much livelier’ than usual.
Viewers were quick to tweet their suspicions about the possibility of Nicole’s backstage boozing, and The Sun later reported she’d had a party in her dressing room before the show.
Former Pussycat Doll Nicole didn’t help matters when she later failed to acknowledge host Dermot O’Leary when he asked her to introduce the next act.
However Nicole later denied the claims, and insisted she was just excited about disco week and the fact her family had flown over from Hawaii.
Mason Noise has the Kanye effect
If you look up ‘massive tool’ in the dictionary, you’ll probably find a picture of X Factor flop Mason Noise.
The delusional singer took the stage during 2015’s Six Chair Challenge and, after a mediocre performance, he wound Simon up by inviting the audience to film him.
When Simon asked him what the hell he was playing at, Mason whined about not receiving enough airtime during boot camp – therefore he was giving the audience a chance to remember him.
Unsurprisingly Simon was NOT impressed. He ordered Mason to apologise to his crew. But stroppy Mason was having none of it – he threw his microphone down and stormed from the stage.
Rita Ora then told Nick Grimshaw: “That’s what you call the Kanye West effect.”
But at least Kanye has the right (or the Grammy awards, at least) to behave like a diva.
AbLisa
How could we put together a list of X Factor’s most shocking moments and NOT include AbLisa.
Hands down, these two girls had one of our favourite auditions ever.
After a terrible rendition of Shayne Ward’s That’s My Goal, guest judge Natalie Imruglia tried to offer some constructive criticism.
But Lisa, the cockier of the two girls, replied: “Who are you?”
Yup – she had the cheek to offend the genius who brought us Torn.
Like us, by now Abbey was done. Before storming away from her friend, she turned around and smashed her in the face.
A small part of us wishes AbLisa would try their luck at the show again. But, then again, they’re probably banned for life…