You might argue that X-Factor has ALWAYS been staged and, to a degree, it has been. This season, however, takes the biscuit.
We've already had a former boyband singer take a run at the judges, there's been countless sob stories and last night saw a horrendously staged "break-in" audition. Essentially, what happened was Kirsty Murphy, a 21-year old dance instructor from Liverpool, burst into the middle of someone else's audition and begged for an opportunity to sing.
She did, singing Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You, and subsequently "wowed" the judges, who gave her a place in tonight's Boot Camp. Here's how it went down.
Now, the truth is that these things are usually RIDDLED with security and if she got within spitting distance of the filming room, it's because she was allowed to do so. Either the producers told her it was fine or they didn't tell the judges or, more likely, the whole thing was staged beforehand.
Twitter, of course, wasn't convinced about the whole thing.
If that Kirsty Murphy thing wasn't all set up why were they filming her before she 'gatecrashed' 🤔 #xfactor
— ✨ (@_xrachelizabeth) September 18, 2016
That whole Kirsty Murphy thing was such a set up #xfactor
— Cherry (@Cherryp13) September 17, 2016
She managed to sneak past multiple security and was then allowed to sing? It's embarrassing how staged they make it look😂 #XFactor
— Kirsty ♡ (@kiloumc_) September 17, 2016
What do you think? Was it staged or was it real? Let us know in the comments and vote in our poll!