Throughout her years in the spotlight, Katie Waissel has encountered several famous faces who have opened up to her about their experiences with sexual harassment and abuse.
The 38-year-old tried to climb her way to the top in 2010, when she joined The X Factor's seventh series. While she was eliminated from the show ahead of the semi-final, Katie has since remained in the limelight and notably competed in the 2016 edition of I'm A Celebrity.
But this was enough for her to become all too aware of the music industry's many dangers and, during a chat with The Sun, Katie announced she'd be taking a stand to protect the new generation of celebrities from sexual predators in showbiz as she launces a new campaign called #FORTHERECORD.
Katie Waissel has revealed that eight household names have opened up about their experiences with sexual abuse and harassment in private (PA)
The former X Factor contestant is taking a stand to protect young artists from sexual predators in showbiz with a new campaign (Instagram)"There is an abuse of power and intimidation tactics are being used", she told the publication, before assuring that "there are so many people who aren’t even speaking out because they are absolutely petrified about losing job opportunities." Katie also claimed that "more and more people" have reached out to her to share their stories, with a total of eight stars opening up to her in private.
She added: "I offered a pair of ears and a shoulder to lean on - I am happy to help. I feel honoured that eight well-known people felt they could speak to me in confidence about their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment within the music industry."
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The singer went on to say, without divulging any names to respect the survivors' privacies, that out of the many celebs who have recalled being taken advantage of, one of them was taken to lavish parties on the pretence of a boost in her career but this led to them being plied with booze and abused.
Another star told Katie that a music manager "sexually objectified" them, making them feel like they were "pimped out", despite the fact they were already romantically involve with someone else. One young artist is also said to have been lured to a hotel room by a senior industry worker who later abused their position of power.
Moreover, one well-known actor was allegedly forced to perform sexual acts on a director to advance their career - a type of crime in the cinema industry which has already been denounced for several years.
Katie has previously shared her own experience with sexual abuse when she alleged that she had been sexually assaulted in a US hotel by a former member of X Factor boss Simon Cowell's team during her participation in the reality series, leading her to develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is common in survivors of sexual abuse and harassment.
At the time, a spokesman for Simon's company Syco Entertainment reacted: "we asked Katie to lodge a complaint with us and detail the allegations for that purpose. Despite a number of requests to Katie asking her to detail the claims to us, she chose not to make a complaint over his behaviour." The company assured they remained "ready and keen to investigate" Katie's claims.
More recently, in January, while giving evidence to a Parliamentary committee looking into record sexual abuse and harassment in the industry, Katie then recalled another occasion an older man grabbed her to make her sit on his lap in a music studio when she was only 16.
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