Cher Lloyd and Cheryl's huge fallout - X Factor besties to explosive public feud

11 September 2023 , 17:29

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Inside Cheryl and Cher Lloyd's rocky relationship (Image: WireImage)

X Factor star Cher Lloyd became best friends with Cheryl mentored on the hit ITV show - however things eventually turned sour.

The former Girls Aloud singer was paired up with Cher when she was just 16-years-old. Cheryl, now 40, was wowed by the teenager's impressive swag as she strolled onto the stage back in 2010. The Geordie star told Cher that she was "right up her street" after she sung Turn My Swag on by Soulja Boy to a standing ovation by the crowd.

It seemed like the pair were a perfect match, but things soon took a turn for the worst. Cheryl started to distance herself from the teen when fellow judge Louis Walsh branded her "too big for her boots". While Cher went on to accuse Cheryl of abandoning her. It resulted in Cher making brutal digs at her once mentor in public. Here's a look at how things turned ugly for the pair.

Cheryl and Cher became close on the X Factor

She immediately impressed judge Cheryl with her swagger (PA)

'Most hated teen' in Britain

After making it through to the live shows, Cher earned herself an unenviable moniker after being accused of throwing strops backstage of TheX Factor. She was already on thin ice after Cheryl chose her ahead of Gamu Nghengu to go through to Boot Camp. There were reports the teen refused to wear the shoes the wardrobe department had provided for her and she ended up performing in Cheryl's heels.

Speaking about the episode at the time she said: "I had a bit of a meltdown earlier in the week. But I just couldn't go on stage in something I felt uncomfortable in." Mentor Louis Walsh branded Cher "too big for her boots" and she was soon branded the "most hated teen" in Britain. Meanwhile Cheryl started to distance herself from her protégée.

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Elimination

Cher was eliminated in the first round of the finals and went on to accuse Cheryl of abandoning her. The teen found herself in the bottom two with Matt Cardle after she partnered with Black Eyed Peas' wil-i.am for I Gotta Feeling and Where Is the Love? Speaking about her mentor's aftercare, Cher quipped: "I didn't have her mobile number to begin with. I've got more chance of winning the lottery than catching up with her."

Insults

Cher made public digs at Cheryl

Having dusted herself off from her X Factor exit, Cher released her hit single Swagger Jagger in 2011. However when asked if she'd duet with Cheryl, she implied the Girls Aloud star used auto-tune and challenged her mentor to sing live with her. Speaking on the Real Breakfast for Real Radio North West show about the possibility, Cher quipped: "Maybe if she sings live with me!"

She was then asked if the Geordie would find it difficult sing live to which the teen replied: "Well it is nowadays, when you haven’t got the nifty little button to press!" When the presenter asked Cher if she meant that Cheryl was relying on auto-tune, she laughed: "What, oh no? Never, never ever!" Needless to say, the mum-of-one was not impressed and took to Twitter raging: "Be Careful who you kick on your way up .. They kick you twice as hard on your way back down.. #unappreciationisugly."

Cher later apologised for her comments, insisting their was no malice behind them. She told ITV's Daybreak: "Basically I said something on radio that I shouldn't have said and it wasn't intended to sound as bad as it did. All I was saying was that I would love to perform with her live and then I made a little joke... I want to say sorry to her if she found that offensive. At the end of the day, she was the person who got me where I am today. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be where I was."

No contact

Despite Cher telling Loose Women she'd 'buried the hatchet' with Cheryl in 2016, she admitted to ITV's Lorraine in 2020 the two don't speak. The mum-of-two said: "I haven’t heard from her in a long time, she’s so busy with the baby. She’s got baby," referring to Cheryl's son Bear. As for her reputation, Cher says she understands why the public turned against her. "Looking back I can see why people thought I was a nightmare and I'm totally embarrassed," she told the Guardian in 2020.

"That's one of the hardest things for me to deal with because that's my past and you've sort of got to look at it as a huge learning experience. It's literally like taking your trousers down and doing a p**s in front of the world." Cher admits she had to do "damage control" and to some extent is still doing it, but concluded: "I’m mother to a little girl. I’ve released two albums and I’ve got a top 10 hit in America. I’m not ‘the most hated teen’. We’ve moved on!"

Mia O'Hare