Singer Cher Lloyd has said she was prescribed anti-depressants at the age of 16 while on reality competition show The X Factor.
The 31-year-old from Worcestershire came fourth on the ITV show in 2010 before releasing her debut album, Sticks And Stones, with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music record label.
Speaking to Paul C Brunson on his podcast, We Need To Talk, Lloyd said she felt like she was losing her mind on the show, explaining that she faced “negative attention” and was made out to be a villain.
“I felt like I’d lost all control of my life, absolutely everything, from the way that I dress, okay, you have a stylist that styles you, I didn’t like those clothes, but I still was made to wear those clothes,” she said.
“I lost my mind on that show 1,000,000% I lost it, and I didn’t feel like I had anyone to turn to, no one to talk to properly, because, they were on the show, could I trust anyone?
“Because I tried to talk to other people before, and then the next day, it’s in the newspaper. So where do you go?”
She continued: “There were other people on that show that experienced the negative side of it.
“And of course, it’s showbusiness, I know that you take the good with the bad, but sometimes things got really dark for me, and I was only 16 years old.”
Speaking about support on the show, she said: “There was like a team of people, like that, to support.
“I was given anti-depressants while on the show. I was 16 and I was prescribed anti-depressants while on the show. I thought that was the norm.”
Speaking about her mentor on the show, singer Cheryl, she said: “Cheryl was nothing but good to me, and I had this feeling like she knew, she knew.
“And she always asked me if I was okay, but I knew that she meant it. I knew that when she said it, she was actually saying, ‘Are you okay?’.”
ITV and production company Syco Entertainment have been approached for comment.
