Since leaving the show last week Lucie and her agent have been inundated with offers from West End musicals to Hollywood auditions for the 18-year-old, however last night she got some bad news: She had to turn all of them down. As part of the top 8, Lucie is currently under contract until March 2010 with The X Factor.
Lucie’s agent Leigh-Ann Regan told The Sun: “It’s frustrating because we represented her before she went into the X Factor and are still representing her.
“There are lots of offers on the table, but we can’t do anything with them because she’s now under contract with the X Factor until March 2010.”
She added: “We’re not willing to pass the deals over to the (X Factor) management company because we discovered her.”
Unfortunately for Lucie it means the only appearances she will be looking forward too over the next few months are turning on Christmas lights.
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Simon should do the decent thing and release her from her contract so that she can at least go for the auditions. He may not think she could have won (to which I have to disagree), but he’s got her kicked out so he should eat some humble pie, say sorry and let her get on with her life.
Preventing her from doing the auditions is just rubbing salt in the wounds.
What is the poor girl meant to live on? Do the Top 8 receive some sort of retainer from the show? Isn’t there just cause for suing the show for restraint of trade? Surely it cannot be difficult for Lucie to prove that the X-Factor producers are preventing her from earning a living? What prevents Lucie from signing contracts for work commencing the day after her release from the X-Factor contract? Did Lucie consult her agent before signing the X-Factor contract? Why isn’t Lucie’s agent working with the X-Factor producers to find work that Lucie can accept? If the X-Factor judges refused unreasonably that would reinforce Lucie’s claims against the X-Factor producers for restraint of trade.
There are specific legal precedents in cases of contracts for employment relating to entertainment. The only one I remember for certain concerns the allowance that has to be made for anyone working as an entertainer to be able to maintain their profile. It is not acceptable that someone shackles an etertainer to a contract which prevents the entertainer from maintaining public interest. Lucie’s agent is going to be working like billy-oh to stop the fickle public from forgetting Lucie completely, leaving her with just her most devoted fans.
Finally, message to all the fans of any of the final 8 acts: as soon as your favourite leaves the show they will need your support more than at any other time in their career, in the past or in the future.