“X Factor” Contestant’s Lengthy Response After Simon Cowell’s Comments On Liam Payne

She went on to suggest Simon’s statements omit the harsh conditions involved in a reality TV competition show that she believes leads to mental health struggles for artists like herself and Liam.

“What happened to us was structural, patterned, and deeply harmful,” Katie said, in response to Simon asking if he could’ve done more. “To suggest otherwise is to reframe tragedy as unexpected, when in truth many of us were shouting — privately, then publicly — about the same mechanisms of harm long before the world lost Liam.”