Following the recent Jedward and Louis Walsh row, an interview with Ronan Keating has been unearthed in which he previously branded the latter and former X Factor judge a “jealous bullshitter”.
Earlier this week, Jedward took aim at their former manager, following him branding them as “vile” during his time on Celebrity Big Brother (March 12).
Walsh also shared his feelings about Keating as the singer’s 2000 hit track ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster” played during a party in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
After describing it as a “great song”, Walsh said of Keating to Sharon Osbourne [via The Independent]: “He was such a prick. Everybody thinks he’s a lovely guy, do you know what I mean?”
Walsh then claimed: “He hasn’t had a hit record since I left. He sacked me.”
An interview with Keating and celebrity biographer Rob McGibbon from 2006, has now been rediscovered and published by The Sun in which the former Boyzone star said: “He [Walsh] hurt me, he really hurt me and he knows it. I don’t have any time for the guy. We’re a million miles from each other. I don’t have any respect for Louis, because he has none for me. He was very jealous of me. I had to sack him because he wouldn’t manage me. He’s a very selfish character. It’s bullshit man. He’s a bullshitter.”
Keating is yet to comment publicly on the resurfaced interview.
Last week, Jedward hit out at Walsh claiming: “Louis Walsh is a cold-hearted bastard who didn’t even send us flowers when our mom died,” they wrote in the first of a series of tweets. “Louis Walsh Bitched and talked about us to our best friend Tara Reid and then we fired him!”
Later, they also went on to allege that Walsh was “an evil manipulator” who reportedly “forced us into an office to pay £70k+ to from our bank account to one of his own PR workers”.
Former X Factor contestant Katie Waissel later waded into the row criticising Walsh and the X Factor, while also sharing her solidarity with Jedward.
She wrote: “@planetjedward firstly, having met you both personally, I can unequivocally state that you are by no means ‘vile’, if anything you are both absolutely the contrary to this! I stand firmly behind you in your corner, always.”
Waissel continued to allege: “What I wish for the general public to take from this, is that Louis Walsh, former X Factor judge, has confirmed and revealed on national television, the tip of the iceberg of abuse, manipulation and coercion that went on behind the scenes on the X Factor, of which myself and many others have spoken publicly about.
“By stating he [Louis Walsh] made £5million off of Jedward, immediately after calling them ‘vile’ and stating that they made ‘great tv’, in itself, only but further confirms how the show was disturbingly manufactured and manipulated.
NME reached out to ITV for comment on Waissel’s post, and to representatives of Walsh.