Malaki- Most Disturbing Child Cruelty Scene on BGT

fugitive · 28/04/12 - 22:24

Obviously the poor 9 year old was suffering from "pushy parent" syndrome.

You could tell he didnt want to be there.

All this in the name of entertainment.

Shame on ITV and BGT.

PJ1893 · 28/04/12 - 22:28

I'm just watching this on +1. What the heck was the sudden ad break all about? It all seems a bit weird and a bit set up.

Oh look... now he's singing it again.

I can't watch this...

4smiffy · 28/04/12 - 22:30

fugitive wrote: »

Obviously the poor 9 year old was suffering from "pushy parent" syndrome.

You could tell he didnt want to be there.

All this in the name of entertainment.

Shame on ITV and BGT.

I hadn't thought of that,

you could be right. He could really sing though and he had cute appeal.

Ivor Fanny · 28/04/12 - 22:35

I found it a bit unsettling too. You could see in his face when he got through.

stash22 · 28/04/12 - 22:40

Just watched it and was horrible to see the little guy burst into tears like that. He can sing and is really cute but if they were really looking out for his best interests they could have told him to come back next year after working on his confidence and singing infront of live audiences. He was so nervous

Unigal07 · 28/04/12 - 22:45

I wouldn't say it was child cruelty but it was uncomfortable viewing. He's a lovely young lad, with a talent, but is too young and too fragile for this. He should never have auditioned.

[Deleted User] · 28/04/12 - 22:48

It was brilliant TV, if only for the shock value of Amanda's role being usurped by Alesha when she ran up on stage to give the kid a cuddle. The kid clearly isn't ready for this though. It should have been 4 no's.

Gill P · 28/04/12 - 22:51

Or four "come back in a few years"!

[Deleted User] · 28/04/12 - 23:01

Just a bit of stage fright wasn't it? I thought his mum was supportive not pushy but I was only half watching it.

I agree he's too young at 9. Beautiful clear vocal though.

JamesC81 · 28/04/12 - 23:19

Well done to the kid, hopefully he's on his way to conquering his fears

chrisjames37 · 28/04/12 - 23:27

fugitive wrote: »

Obviously the poor 9 year old was suffering from "pushy parent" syndrome.

You could tell he didnt want to be there.

All this in the name of entertainment.

Shame on ITV and BGT.

It's probably a scam that she does in talent shows all over the country!

SydneyHedgehog · 28/04/12 - 23:39

The cynic in me says it was deliberate.

Think about it ......... I dare Alesha and Amanda to say after the 2nd go around from his blubbing, 'actually youre really not good enough'

its a guaranteed ticket to the next round.

sutie · 28/04/12 - 23:51

Gill P wrote: »

Or four "come back in a few years"!

Precisely. They've been there before with this sort of thing - (that poor young girl a few years ago who broke down.) They should know better.

cooler · 29/04/12 - 01:00

Why shame on ITV and BGT? How did they know he was going to cry on stage? Do you expect them to not broadcast his performance because he cried?

paralax · 29/04/12 - 01:03

Kids should not be on these shows, there is a history of child stars who end up so screwed up because of the pressure.

That poor little boy should not have been put through, he was far too scared and it won't get any better.

JohnCurry · 29/04/12 - 01:15

I don't think it did him any harm - he looked happy enough when they left.

Agent F · 29/04/12 - 01:24

I think people are overstating it slightly. Child cruelty? Pushy parent? That's a lot to gauge from a highly edited audition. From what I saw of his Mum she seemed like a loving parent and he seemed like someone who loved to sing and wanted to follow his dreams. Obviously nerves got the better of him and that's never nice to watch but I doubt it will do him any long term damage. He came good in the end and conquered his nerves.

[Deleted User] · 29/04/12 - 01:31

I was debating this with Hubby, who thought there should be an age limit. I said no because you get some people of all ages who are terrified & cry or at least let nerves show; similarly you get some of all ages who take it in their stride. It's like live tv or radio - I love it & feel at home with it but friends say 'omg how do you do it, I'd be petrified'.

Also if there was an age limit you'd miss some boys because their voice would break.

Aled Jones was a great singer as a child & I don't remember him being scared on TOTP. So, no ban on children or an age limit for me!

But... When you can see someone goes to bits with nerves, whatever age they are they should be told to come back next year & work on it first.

But... Since subo, don't all who make the live shows have access to a psychiatrist? Only Simon knows whether the kid will get help & training to manage his nerves, or whether it would destroy him. I don't think we the viewers can decide this as we don't know what support Malachai would get if he made the lives.

We can't have another crying Holly on live tv, that would be awful. Or that 13yr old on USA x-factor who collapsed in sobs when eliminated. But I think what we do want is support & training for anyone who makes the lives, of any age. I don't think an age limit would be the solution (nor would it be fair to boys with lovely unbroken voices as they might lose their voice before being old enough).

Hope that all makes sense!

Fudd · 29/04/12 - 02:07

Once he had a breakdown but came back they could say nothing but yes. However, they could quietly let him go at the next stage so he doesn't reach the lives.

racol5 · 29/04/12 - 03:02

That wasn't the worst bit, it was sending him up a chimney and sending him to bed with a clump of bread that did it for me :eek:

[Deleted User] · 29/04/12 - 06:07

There was something very odd about this boys mother that I can't quite work out. She seemed like she could of had quite an attitude or a different side to her but was covering up this for the show. She just didn't seem real, there was something different about her. On a different note, I do believe this boys tears were genuine, unlike that girl Holly who I'm certain just pretended to cry to get put through a few years back.

[Deleted User] · 29/04/12 - 06:18

I didn't get the impression that Malachi had chosen to enter the competition himself. More mum's choice I suspect.
He was a brave little lad with a nice singing voice but I hoped the judges wouldn't put him through. Now he has to worry about the next round.

Score · 29/04/12 - 08:22

Agent F wrote: »

I think people are overstating it slightly. Child cruelty? Pushy parent? That's a lot to gauge from a highly edited audition. From what I saw of his Mum she seemed like a loving parent and he seemed like someone who loved to sing and wanted to follow his dreams. Obviously nerves got the better of him and that's never nice to watch but I doubt it will do him any long term damage. He came good in the end and conquered his nerves.

Agreed. People on here are determined to see the bad in everything. I thought she seemed lovely and he just seemed to love to sing, as you've said.

I think the point people are missing is that he's 9 and kids at that age cry. A lot. It's just what they do and therefore it's a bit much to scream 'child cruelty!', 'emotional breakdown!' when in reality he came good in the end and was probably over it within about 10 minutes. It's just how young kids are, they cry a lot and get over it very quickly. Plus I'm sure now that he's conquered his nerves at the audition and got 4 yeses he'll be better on the live show with a much smaller studio audience.

SydneyHedgehog · 29/04/12 - 08:29

Score wrote: »

Agreed. People on here are determined to see the bad in everything. I thought she seemed lovely and he just seemed to love to sing, as you've said.

I think the point people are missing is that he's 9 and kids at that age cry. A lot. It's just what they do and therefore it's a bit much to scream 'child cruelty!', 'emotional breakdown!' when in reality he came good in the end and was probably over it within about 10 minutes. It's just how young kids are, they cry a lot and get over it very quickly. Plus I'm sure now that he's conquered his nerves at the audition and got 4 yeses he'll be better on the live show with a much smaller studio audience.

All fun and games until you get a 13 year old kid come onto the show, do really bad and be humiliated, get to school and be humiliated by the bullies and they go and top themselves.

Then what???

It'll happen one day ........

Oldnjaded · 29/04/12 - 09:19

Agent F wrote: »

I think people are overstating it slightly. Child cruelty? Pushy parent? That's a lot to gauge from a highly edited audition. From what I saw of his Mum she seemed like a loving parent and he seemed like someone who loved to sing and wanted to follow his dreams. Obviously nerves got the better of him and that's never nice to watch but I doubt it will do him any long term damage. He came good in the end and conquered his nerves.

*applauds* Finally, the voice of reason! Totally agree with what you say. He obviously did want to be there, if not he could easily have run off when he got upset and not come back, but he clearly told Alesha he wanted to sing again.

grimtales1 · 29/04/12 - 09:22

I don't think Listen was the right song for anyone that young (let alone a boy) and it was hard to watch the little guy crying

But if anything it showed Simon's double standards about nervousness (I guess they didnt want a repeat of the Holly Steel situation).
He should have tried a different song IMO. But I agree his mum seemed a loving mum

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