Una Mullally - "The Grimes twins will always be those two eejits off X Factor. Nothing can change that. Their lives, as they knew them, are over"

Louis Walsh of the X Factor with the Grimes twins:?'vile little creatures' according to Simon Cowell

Together they are John and Edward, the identical twins from Lucan in Dublin who have become famous overnight thanks to their appearance on the reality television singing competition The X Factor. Under the stewardship of Louis Walsh, they are now in the final 11 acts, in spite of widespread public hatred of the 17-year-olds.

John and Edward Grimes are quite objectionable. They can't really sing, their dancing is dodgy, they are cocky and arrogant, and have that irritating pseudo-American accent that echoes around shopping centres across the land. They are also highly entertaining in the reality TV currency of cringe, the jesters in a competition that takes itself so seriously that contestants go on about how every live show is the most important moment in their existence, and have half-hourly breakdowns due to pressure/ joy/fear of failure/being prodded about some tragic element of their past, and so on.

Apart from Louis Walsh and those who texted the ITV phone lines to keep them in the competition, nobody really likes John and Edward. Dozens of Facebook groups have been set up calling for their downfall. Death threats and lust for violence scream from message boards, chat rooms and blogs. They are just kids, yet they have been subjected to the abuse of both Britain and Ireland for just being who they are, and maybe hamming it up a little. That feeling of millions of people thinking you are, as X Factor judge Simon Cowell put it, "vile little creatures" must be unbearable.

Their father has said he is "100% behind them" which is ridiculous. If your kids were being torn to pieces online and in the press because they were on a TV show, would you be 100% behind them? Or would you want them to just get off the bloody TV show and get on with their lives. We all made fools of ourselves as teenagers, but luckily, a TV crew wasn't there to film us crying to The Smiths or puking up our first can of cider. On the one hand, a generation of digital natives who grew up watching Pop Idol and Big Brother, and branding themselves online, have far more overt confidence, are more ambitious, and view being a 'reality TV star' as a career choice. But on the other hand, they are risking the rest of their lives by showing a dangerous willingness to give up everything – dignity, shame, privacy – in order to get on TV.

No matter what John and Edward do now – even if there's some kind of miraculous Jade Goody-style turnaround in public empathy – they will always be those two eejits off The X Factor. Nothing can change that. Their lives, as they knew them, are over. Should 17-year-olds really be allowed to make that decision for themselves? Reality tv exploits naive and delusional people. Contestants who are often anywhere from deranged about their talents to actually mentally ill are frequently wheeled in during the 'audition' phases of these programmes for us to laugh at. The producers know there is no way that they will ever get through, but they're put on stage for the audience to poke fun at the crazies, and the judges to humiliate.

Appearing on reality TV is not without more serious consequences either. There seems to be a high violent death rate trending amongst ex-reality stars. Whether that's because there are more people appearing on such shows and so deaths are more commonplace; or because people who want to appear on reality TV are more unstable than the rest of us; or because reality TV makes people unstable, is hard to say, but the facts are disturbing.

In August, Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on VH1's Megan Wants A Millionaire murdered and mutilated his ex-wife before hanging himself. Last month, Brian Randone, from America's Sexiest Bachelor pleaded not guilty to torturing and murdering a porn star. AJ Jewell, who appeared in the Real Housewives of Atlanta was killed in a brawl outside a nightclub this month. In 2005 Najai 'Nitro' Turpin shot himself after losing a bout on NBC's boxing reality show The Contender presented by Sylvester Stallone. There have also been at least two known suicides amongst contestants of Survivor, and numerous murders between contestants appearing on sensationalised chat shows including Jenny Jones and Jerry Springer. If you expose people to mass humiliation and public criticism and ridicule, you must expect many to either buckle or lash out under the pressure. Occasionally, this will result in death.

Reality TV is a strange womb. The contestants are not known before, and generally disappear after. There is no real context for their existence. They are judged on their behaviour, all of which is edited dubiously for the cameras. Whether John and Edward will be hailed as heroes when they return to their schooling at the Institute of Education in Dublin or will get a box in the face the next time they go out in town, will only become evident when they are finally booted off. I wonder, will the parents still be 100% behind them then?

umullally@tribune.ie

October 18, 2009

Comments

#1 Brian Smyth commented, on October 19, 2009 at 10 a.m.:

It is very sad & indeed vulgar to see an Irish newspaper descend to this level of attack on two young Irish boys & their parents. Why this journalist cannot rejoice that two young men have been given a wonderful opportunity to mingle & mix in the higher echelons of contemporary pop music culture which may not be to her own personal taste saddens me. The fact the parents say nothing more than we support our children 100% is a credit to them as they do not need to say any more. The connection to US reality TV stars personal problems also eludes me.

Her vacuous arguments could also have been made about Boyzone,Westlife and many other Irish success stories. Why must we always knock our own?

#2 Anne O'Connor commented, on October 19, 2009 at 10:36 a.m.:

Two young enthusiastic irish teenagers are making a go of it on X Factor despite hostile UK tabloid press reaction . Any Irish newspaper of worth should not join in such an easy bandwagon.

I salute both boys & their parents for ignoring the begrudgers & enjoying the moment. If they do get a slap in the face it is because of cynical jornalists writing articles of this ilk.

#3 Niamh commented, on October 19, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.:

#1 +#2 would you ever get a grip...

'Why must we always knock our own?'

No no, we dont, there are plenty of Irish musical acts that are praised both at home and all over the world. What people are less keen to praise however, is two *bad* karaoke singers who are being backed by Louis Walsh as nothing more than a temporary cash cow until their gimmick runs out and becomes irritating to even the people who find them amusing now.
The producers of the show know this, and somewhere deep down inside, the entire Grimes family know this. So it begs the question..should these kids and their parents have made the decision to associate themselves with something so awful for the rest of their lives for a 15 mins in the spotlight?
Its up to them of course, but please do not imply that people that do not agree with this or fail to find it entertaining are begrudging these boys success because they are Irish. That is just ridiculous, it is because they are talentless and seem borderline proud of it. Plain and simple. Shamelessness does not equate to talent.

#4 Michael Robinson commented, on October 19, 2009 at 1:50 p.m.:

I usually like Una Mullally and she makes some good points up to paragraph 6 where the article goes entirely off the rails.

The connection drawn between this pair and the "high violent death rate" in reality stars is spurious in the extreme. What exactly is she suggesting? In fact, she even explains her point by saying that reality TV deaths (all examples pulled from obscure US shows) are more commonplace due to the sheer numbers of so called reality stars now in existence. It's simply a numbers game.

And yes, when the twins do get voted off X Factor they may indeed by heralded as heroes or they may get a punch in the face at the hands of some violent unstable bigot - chances are a You're a Star or Deal or No Deal reject.

Very confusing article.

#5 Pól Ó C commented, on October 19, 2009 at 1:53 p.m.:

Ditto Anne and Bryan above - the two lads are having the time of their lives, and I'd wager that, for two young pop fans, memories of meeting the likes of Robbie Williams & Whitney Houston will be worth the inevitable slagging Ireland gives to anyone who sticks their heads over the parapet.

#6 Paul Chillage commented, on October 19, 2009 at 2:35 p.m.:

Face it, they're sh*t. I don't care whether they are 17, 27, 47 or 70, have parents or don't have parents, are from Ireland or any other country, whether the media like them or not - be it Irish media, UK media or any where else media. That's my opinion based on their singing and their performances and not anything else.

#7 Vince commented, on October 19, 2009 at 3:32 p.m.:

"Apart from Louis Walsh and those who texted the ITV phone lines to keep them in the competition, nobody really likes John and Edward."

That can't be true, they have now gone through 2 live finals and are in the top 10. This is despite Ireland not being able to vote, other contestants benefit from their region voting for them. To get this far is a triumph.

A facebook group is very easy to setup, most people sign up to facebook groups in jest.

As you mentioned Jade Goody turned around public opinion and John + Edward appear to be doing the same.

To bring up the violent, disturbing past of unrelated American reality contestants is shock journalism at its very worst!

#8 tom white commented, on October 19, 2009 at 3:52 p.m.:

These people are missing the point. The twins are the 'novelty' act on this year's X factor. They are there mainly because they seem oblivious to the fact that people are laughing at them. It's also an easy excuse for a stream of fake arguments between Louis and Simon Cowell. The only losers here will be the twins. I hope their families are there to pick up the pieces.

#9 Art Cummins commented, on October 21, 2009 at 1:45 p.m.:

I agree largely with Una Mullally and some of your reader's comments are embarrassing.
The idea of defending anyone solely because they´re Irish is ludicrous and paradoxically such an attitude is in many ways 'anti-Irish',as we are much more than a tiny tribal clique.It's pretty clear to most people that even by the low standards of pop singing, that these two boys are particularly talentless and even allowing for their youth-their arrogant swagger is breathtaking. In short they are the essence of the 20/21st century idea that one can be rich and famous without anything out of the ordinary to offer-most of the responses to Una's article show how many of your readers still value empty,vacuous individuals such as the Grimes's as the type of celebrity we all deserve to grace our media.

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