A-Z of mental health
Information and advice on a huge range of mental health topics
The X Factor and mental health
Posted Tuesday 20 September 2011
The annual dose of X Factor controversy appears to have arrived in the past few days with this morning’s press focusing on the treatment of wannabe singer Ceri Rees, who was rejected from the programme for the fourth time in Sunday night’s show.
This has sparked another round of discussion in the media about the psychological effect on contestants taking part in the programme, and whether vulnerable people are being ‘exploited’ or ‘humiliated’.
Firstly, it is important to recognise that we have no reason to suspect that Ms Rees has any form of mental health problem. To assume that she does, as some of the media coverage has suggested, is presumptuous and stigmatising.
I know many people without a mental health problem who believe they can sing beautifully but can’t carry a note – having delusions about one’s own ability is not the sole preserve of mental illness.
However, regardless of Ms Rees’s own mental health, this is not the first time that concerns have been raised about the mental wellbeing of contestants on the show, and whether it is appropriate for vulnerable people to take part in these programmes.
People with mental health problems have as much right as anyone else to take part in reality TV programmes, such as the X Factor, and should not be prevented from doing so purely on the basis of their condition. Like anyone who dreams of being a pop star, people with mental health problems should be allowed to participate in the show on an equal footing.
Every year, one in four people in the UK experiences a mental health problem so it is entirely likely that there are contestants who are experiencing mental distress yet are perfectly capable of coping with the rigours of the show and the stress this brings.
Will Young, winner of the first Pop Idol, has spoken publicly of his battles with depression, showing that a mental health problem need be no barrier to a successful career.
Broadcasters do have a duty of care to their contestants though. They have a responsibility to ensure that anyone appearing on their programme is up to the pressure that these shows can bring.
It has been reported that previous X Factor contestants, such as Cher Lloyd in last year’s finals, have struggled with the stress the environment can bring. This applies to contestants in the early rounds as much as the finalists and it does seem that participants are not always given the support they need.
It is important that mental health does not become a spectator sport with participants provoked into distressed states for the entertainment of the viewing public. Ultimately, it is a decision for programme makers as to whether participants are shown auditioning for the show.
Should Ceri Rees have been broadcast at such length on Sunday night’s show in a way that could be seen as humiliating? Without knowing more about her particular history and mental wellbeing it is difficult to say. It is also tricky to judge the programme without seeing what goes on behind the cameras – are contestants such as Ceri given the support they need in a responsible manner that doesn’t push them into a situation they may be uncomfortable with? Or are they ‘egged on’ by production staff who want to build her up before the judges knock her down?
The mental health of participants on reality TV programmes is absolutely paramount and I certainly hope that the producers take their responsibilities seriously. I would encourage them to provide mental health first aid training for their staff to ensure that everyone is able to take part in the show should they want to, but are given appropriate support and assistance before, during and after they step on stage.
Matthew Taylor, Senior Media Officer
17 Comments
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The programme is at times disgraceful - Some of the people let onstage have mental issues and they all sit there laughing and smirking.
Crap programme
David
Bipolar in Plymouth -
I auditioned for the first Pop Idol- the one that Will Young won- and I believe the rejection from this (I was 16 at the time, chubby and self-conscious about everything except my singing ability) sparked off an eating disorder that I have been struggling with ever since.
Singing was the only thing I had ever been good at and praised for and when a simple 'no' took those beliefs and confidence away I began to doubt any compliments on my talent that I had ever received. I thought everyone had lied to me and that extended to paranoia over what I could eat and how I looked.
I am not saying they could have done anything to stop this happening, but some after care and acceptance of the impact of these programmes on young/vulnerable people is sorely needed.
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I think it's always going to be a fine line to tread as it's difficult to identify those individuals who perhaps may not cope so well without first practising some form of discrimination.
There are many instances on these shows where friends and family should take more responsibility for looking after those they care about. All too often we rely on the nanny state and forget that we should be able to look after ourselves and those around us. Equally it is very difficult to predict how people will cope with the pressures that come with this sort of experience - some shy people thrive whilst other outgoing people crash and burn. How can we truly determine the mental state of contestants before they arrive?
This will always be a tough one to call and actually this year's judging panel are at least more respectful than the previous years' have been.
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Mental health has always been open season for ridicule except those who have made it big and then they are hailed as great successes and held up as examples to the rest of us that any of us 'can do it', but actually no, not everyone can be Stephen Fry, Ruby Wax or Will Young, much of their careers comes from lucky breaks as well as a specific talent. It's also different developing difficulties AFTER making it, getting an education, having had a career, after formative years. Psych history IS a bar to successful careers, employers don't want people with psych history other than in the lowest paid manual labour work with the flimsiest conditions ie ideally no sick pay. The media treat mental health as; dangerous in need of control and lifelong medication, a weakness from which people need to pull themselves together from, non productive pathetic burdens to families & society - or brilliant national treasures because they are famous and SO brave for 'coming out' after they have become immensely popular/wealthy/secure in their careers [which are more flexible than the supermarkets] and showered with awards for uttering a single word about it.
This is before we get to the saint/sinner category ie person with mental health problems doing paid work = good, unpaid work or no work = scum. The media don't even believe the very few famous service users who have actually used NHS services what they say about the state of acute units and treatment, but if there's a hint of a major scandal in an unit will come galloping in to 'expose' the abuse because it's a good story - but then so is someone's affair, cellulite, weight gain/loss..it's really hard to have any respect for the media. Rebecca Leighton was hung, drawn and quartered by the media before being charged, since being released she's been scared to walk down the road, yet millionaire footballers and A listers can take out super injunctions/pay people off so their exposure is minimal or claim thousands with civil action. -
Mindreader:
'Mental health has always been open season for ridicule..'
Absolutely right and the rest of your comment is spot-on, very good analysis about difference between ordinary people and celebs.
Your comments are really helpful: please don't ever be put off, e.g. by the person who criticised you in another thread: I find your words and critique of mental health excellent and you often say just what I feel but don't always have the energy to write. I'm glad MIND has provided the opportunity for these debates.
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As some media reports implied, she seemed to be mentally ill, it shows we still have a long way to go to eliminate any form of stigma in this country. Perhaps the media will return next week with a story speculating that all those who cannot sing have a mental illlness! Stop discriminating and give individuals oppertunity instead of mockery. We need to have respect for each other and the media must not tarnish people without knowing anything about them.
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Mindreader - great comment as always, keep it up. Like the analysis of the difference between celebs and ordinary people.
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Thankyou Dymphna
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What should we do, campaign for Simon Cowell to personally administer a mental state exam on each and every contestant?
It could be argued that 99% (i.e. anyone not doing it for a dare or bet) of contestants are vulnerable. These people believe they can sing and whether that's true or not they are paraded on stage, subjected to a public grilling by four people who are fed carefully-controlled stock phrases designed to provoke certain reactions from the audience and viewer, then either have their hopes raised beyond their wildest dreams if they get through to the next round or shredded completely if they're told no.
Everyone who enters the X Factor would have watched it beforehand, they would know what the're letting themselves in for. It can't even be argued that Ceri herself didn't know this, she's done it several times before!
The X Factor is not a talent show, it's a freak show. It's exactly the same as the old Victorian shows with the bearded lady and midget in a sailor costume, only we don't crowd in and throw rotten vegetables and coppers, we sit in front of the television and laugh with each other on entertainment fora instead. No-one laughs at the contestants' mental health status or vulnerablility (unless you count a delusion as believing you can sing when you can't, an attribute we'd all apply to many people without a hint of a stab at their mental health). We laugh at their over-confidence, their inability to carry a note, the cheesiness of it all when the soppy backing track comes on and we hear a voiceover of how their mum has chicken pox and their dad broke an eyelash just before the show and tomorrow they have to attend their pet tortoise's funeral... no-one to my knowledge has ever pointed at the stage and screamed out "Ha! You're vulnerable! Who is your care co-ordinator?!"
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...contd:
I got confused in a shop the other day and the cashier laughed at me. I didn't call the papers and tell the whole country how that evil nasty shop assistant laughed at me, I didn't threaten to sue the store for not ensuring I was mentally fit to shop there, I didn't scream about being vulnerable. I accepted that despite what was going on inside my own head it must have looked fairly comical to the bored guy behind the counter and realised that if it had been anyone else without a whiff of a psych diagnosis he would have reacted in the exact same way. If anyone had made a fuss on my behalf, I'd be mortified. I wonder how Ceri feels knowing everyone's no longer talking about her singing (or even her inability to sing) but making wild assumptions about her mental health?
If we want equality for mental health then it goes both ways. If it's OK to point and laugh at someone who can't sing then we get to point and laugh regardless of whether or not they have a mental health diagnosis.
We can't expect to be treated equally if every time someone fails to get through to the next round of the X Factor that we throw up our hands in horror at the supposed mistreatment of them. I wonder if this hadn't grabbed the media's attention if Ceri had just gone home and carried on with her life, now she has half the country speculating and trying to diagnose her! So which would have been a better outcome for Ceri?
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Oops, sorry for repeating myself, thought my first comment was not going to be printed.
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i dont hav to go to x factor to be belittled, humilated, laughed at and patronised and dehumanised, society alrrady does a good job of that
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BDP - too right, service users [apparently we're not supposed to use that term anymore] are patronised and humiliated by mental health services, housing depts, housing repair depts, DWP, government ministers, and the media has got half the country detesting us [unless we're rich/famous].
Frankly X Factor is a doddle by comparison. -
When I used to say I'd been in the bin when going for jobs I routinely got humiliated and even ran up the road crying afterwards. If you don't want that kind of hatred and belittling you have to play it cool. Feel sorry for Ceri but she keeps going back for more. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the early auditions were still only in front of the judges as they used to be - that howling screaming mob, called an audience, put me off the programme.
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Has anyone else noticed Matthew Wright's habit of referring to Britain's Got Talent as 'Britain Exploits The Mentally Challenged' on The Wright Stuff? As with the X-Factor, it is edited in such a way that it plays up the more unstable contestants.
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The producers of the X-factor clearly exploit vulnerable people in the name of entertainment regardless whether they have mental health issues or not. We realy shouldn't presume that some of these contestents are mentally ill, but we do. I think the viewers of these shows are just as guilty by finding such badger-baiting displays entertaining. Someone told me that all contestents on these type of shows are risk assessed, clearly this is not being done. Its not just talent shows that offer this deplorable form of so called entertainment, just need to watch the awful Jeremy Kyle show. I would hate to think what the newspapers would write about my mental health (bipolar) if I auditioned (which I won't) considering I am a conmplete oddball and can't sing for toffee.
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"It is important that mental health does not become a spectator sport with participants provoked into distressed states for the entertainment of the viewing public."
I agree with this statement, and think there is a very fine line to tread, as sometimes it is hard to know how someone will be affected until later in the show. However, mental health must not be used for entertainment. Working within the mental health industry, I have greater understanding than others.
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