Robbie Williams was slated by X Factor fans after he branded Dalton Harris’ performance “boring”.
The young singer kicked off Sunday night’s semi-final with his rendition of Clown by Emeli Sande. The crowd went wild as he received a standing ovation – but Williams was unimpressed.
“Personally I thought it was a bit flat,” he said. “You’re not – but for a semi-final it was a bit boring. Not you – you’re an Olympian.”
Williams was drowned out by the audience who booed his comments. Viewers were equally as furious and slammed him for criticising Dalton when his act, Acacia and Aaliyah, “sing the same song every week”.
One tweeted: “Robbie calling Dalton boring when his last contestant are two girls that keep singing the same songs every weeks is LAUGHABLE #xfactor.”
Another wrote: “Is Robbie on a mission to make everyone hate him?! Dalton is amazing! I’ve never found a single second of his voice ‘boring’ #XFactor.”
A third wrote: “Robbie can shut the f*** up Dalton was AMAZING !!! #XFactor.”
Dalton was praised by the judges with Williams’ wife Ayda Field hailing him an “absolute powerhouse” while Louis Tomlinson appeared to take a swipe at Williams, saying: “This isn’t the time for constructive criticism. You’re amazing bro.”
Williams faced a barrage of criticism for allowing teen duo Acacia and Aliyah to sing Stormzy’s Big For Your Boots again. The girls performed the track on Saturday night’s show.
Dalton and Anthony Russell sailed through to the final on the public vote while Scarlett Lee and Acacia and Aliyah were forced to sing for survival in the dreaded sing-off.
Simon Cowell, Field and Tomlinson opted to save Scarlett, who broke down in tears.
The X Factor final is on ITV, Saturday at 7:30pm
