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The X Factor's Top Five Sound Off on Paula and Nicole's Death Threats

Most of the contestants were unaware of the situation, but handed out advice to the fans posting the hateful comments online

By Tierney Bricker Dec 06, 2011 7:32 PMTags
X Factor, L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul, Simon CowellRay Mickshaw / FOX

Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger may not be commenting on the death threats they've been receiving since they voted 14-year-old Drew off The X Factor, but the top five contestants are!

We just caught up with the remaining contestants—Melanie Amaro, Rachel Crow, Josh Krajick, Marcus Canty and Chris Rene—and we had to ask about the death threats heard around the interwebs.

 

Shockingly enough, most of the contestants were unaware of the threats until we asked for their reaction. "Oh my goodness, that's terrible," Rachel said. "I did not know that!

"I don't think that's fair at all," she continued. "Drew had had a couple of very bad weeks and I think [the judges] were saving her. I love Drew and I think she's one of the most talented people ever. I think what happened was, they were like, nobody wants to be mean to her anymore."

Canty, the contestant Nicole and Paula decided to keep in the competition instead of Drew, told us people need to realize that it's just TV. "That's sad, man," he said. "It's just a competition, guys. Let's relax. I don't think anyone deserves a death threat no matter what. That's terrible."

Krajcik had some words of wisdom for the fans out there taking things too far. "I think one of the things that's so special about the show is how passionate the fans are. At the same time, people have to realize they shouldn't be so passionate that it blinds their judgment," he said. "When you're on the Internet, it's easy to be anonymous and it's easy to say things that have no consequence. But they really do. People need to take a step back and relax."

While Krajcik hadn't noticed an increase in security on set, he said, "Security's always different on show days. Those guys always take their job very seriously and we're thankful for them. We'll probably be able to tell more on Wednesday and Thursday."

To hear more from the top five, watch our interview with the contestants above!

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