{"id":83117,"date":"2025-05-07T23:37:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T23:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/83117\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T23:37:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T23:37:12","slug":"rebecca-ferguson-i-wont-get-justice-but-i-believe-in-karma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/83117\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Ferguson: ‘I won’t get justice, but I believe in karma’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Rebecca
\n\t\tRebecca Ferguson has opened up about her experiences at work (Picture: C Brandon\/Redferns)<\/p>\n

Rebecca Ferguson<\/a> has lost faith she\u2019ll ever get justice for how she\u2019s been \u2018blackmailed, bullied, and threatened<\/a>\u2019 since she found fame on The X Facto<\/a>r in 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ferguson was easily one of the most successful artists to come from The X Factor, coming second to Matt Cardle<\/a> and beating one of the most successful British artists of all-time, One Direction<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following year, she released her multi-platinum debut album, Heaven, to huge acclaim and was well on her way to becoming one of the most celebrated female musicians in Britain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On paper, she was living the dream. But the reality of a hugely successful music career and massive fame from The X Factor was an unbearable nightmare<\/a> that Ferguson, to this day, is unable to fully speak about after being threatened into signing an NDA,<\/a> which puts her in a contract of sworn secrecy for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was told she wouldn\u2019t work again, despite sell-out tours and millions of albums sold. \u2018They block our music on YouTube, block your albums on iTunes. If you\u2019ve got a live agent who does all your bookings they they go, \u201cright, don\u2019t give her any bookings. If any Jons come in for her to sing, tell them she\u2019s unavailable.\u201d Eventually you\u2019re completely isolated.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ferguson was broken down until eventually she was told she had only one option. \u2018They they go, \u201cRight. We can make this stop, we can make your life be ok again, you just need to sign this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Editorial
\n\t\tFerguson competed on The X Factor in 2009 (Picture: Ken McKay\/Talkback Thames\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

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\u2018It was terrible,\u2019 she tells Metro. \u2018I was so young when this happened to me, now I\u2019m older I\u2019d class myself as being a baby at the time.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, at 39, she\u2019s a grown woman with a voice and is among the 91,000 people who have signed a petition calling to end the use of NDAs to silence victims of abuse in the workplace \u2013 seven years after former Prime Minister Theresa May first promised reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ferguson joins\u00a0Labour MP Louise Haigh, Zelda Perkins, co-founder of Can\u2019t Buy My Silence, and campaigners from 38 Degrees who will be urging MPs ahead of the upcoming Employment Bill to put an end to the dangerous loophole in UK employment law which is impacting the lives of thousands of people.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s really quite widespread,\u2019 says Ferguson. \u2018I had a lot of high profile artists get in touch with me when I was campaigning. I obviously won\u2019t name them but I found it so interesting how many reached out to say they\u2019d gone through the same experience.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Editorial
\n\t\tSince the ITV show, she said she has been \u2018blackmailed, bullied, and threatened\u2019 (Picture: Ken McKay\/Talkback Thames\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s an endemic that\u2019s spread far beyond the music industry. Over 2,000 people from across almost every major sector in the UK completed a survey by worker-led platform Organise, with 29% of respondents claiming to have signed an NDA. 24% of respondents reported knowing someone who has had to sign an agreement requiring them to stay quiet about abuse, harassment, or discrimination in the workplace<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s going on in offices all around the country, around the world,\u2019 warns Ferguson.<\/p>\n

Years after auditioning for The X Factor<\/a> as a softly-spoken, gentle 23-year-old single mum, Ferguson is the obvious choice to join this petition. She\u2019s been among the most vocal musicians to expose the manipulation of artists under NDAs<\/a> for years, loudly spreading the message social media and wherever she can find a platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Initially, she wanted justice. Justice for the trauma she\u2019s endured and against the people who gained from it. \u2018I wanted every single truth to come out,\u2019 she says. \u2018I fought hard and went to them directly and said \u201cyou need to remedy this.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Ferguson did, somewhat surprisingly, get some form of an apology. Again, she won\u2019t name names but she claims: \u2018Some have actually shown a willingness to repair and remedy.\u2019<\/p>\n

Regardless, getting that apology made public feels impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s one thing to apologise to someone privately but you\u2019re absolving yourself from that guilt because the public perception is still that it might not have really happened, you\u2019re still not fully acknowledging your role.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ll accept acknowledgment that what happened has happened to me and that it was unacceptable but they show no willingness to repair it. The company comes first.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

As she heads to parliament though, justice is no longer on her mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Rebecca
\n\t\tFerguson is campaigning to to end the use of NDAs to silence victims of abuse in the workplace (Picture: Jordan Pettitt\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m a big believer in karma. \u2018I\u2019m at a place where I\u2019d rather focus on my advocacy than dragging up what\u2019s happened on The X Factor. I\u2019m so over it, I\u2019m not living in that place, I hope everyone moves on from it and turns it into something positive.\u2019<\/p>\n

Instead, she\u2019s hoping this bill will prevent anyone else enduring the same horror. People shouldn\u2019t just survive their careers, be burned out or thrown out of them entirely, traumatised and silenced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Ferguson has a clear warning for others as the process begins in the House of Lords tomorrow: \u2018Question every single politician that opposes this bill. Why wouldn\u2019t they just go, \u201cthis sounds great.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Directly to Sir Keir Starmer, she concludes: \u2018It\u2019s 2025, old systems of hiding corruption, deceit and these types of crimes isn\u2019t sustainable. The public won\u2019t accept it, future generations won\u2019t accept it and so why not be the government that makes the change, agrees this bill and lets it come to pass.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Dermot O\u2019Leary fiercely defends The X Factor against mistreatment allegations after Liam Payne tragedy<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: X Factor star Danny Dearden dies aged 34 as Mel B pays heartfelt tribute<\/a><\/p>\n

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