Stan Walker has spoken out about why he stayed silent during Natalia Kills verbal attack on contestant Joe Irvine.
X Factor NZ judge and chart-topping musician Stan Walker has broken his silence about former judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, saying he didn't react to their verbal attack as he didn't want to jeopardise the show's future.
Speaking on Australian radio station 2day FM's Scoopla Show, Walker said he stayed quiet following the verbal attack on contestant Joe Irvine as he was worried about antagonising the pair on live television.
"Sometimes if you add fire to fire, it's going to blow up. If they had swore, if they had cussed on live television, that show would have been over.
"So I was boiling but I was like 'nah, I'm going to leave them, let the fool be the fool.' I really did want to because when I go in, I go in," he told hosts Jules Lund and Emma Freedman.
Walker said he had previously clashed with the pair during the pre-recorded auditions and boot camp, which resulted in "heated discussions".
"So much stuff was edited out of that stuff. Our mics are always on. If there's things that are really offensive they have to get it out. We can't cuss on television. I don't swear but they do, every second word is with them. But I was like 'nah man, if I go in, it's going to be over for all of us'."
He said it was difficult to hear in the studio, as the live audience was making so much noise. He said he heard some of what Kills said to Irvine but not Moon's comments.
If he had engaged in an argument with the pair, Walker said it would have escalated quickly.
"It could have got ugly. I was like 'man this is live, we can't edit this out. This is not boot camp, this is not auditions'."
Walker said he was pleased to see the back of the pair, saying: "Shame eh, good job."
• Stan Walker will feature in tomorrow's Michele Hewitson interview in the Weekend Herald
- nzherald.co.nz
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.