X Factor hopeful Ottavio Columbro calls police over claims he ‘cyberbullied a teenage girl’
One half of fame-hungry pair Ottavio and Bradley is alleged to have launched a scathing attack at schoolgirl fan of Coach Trip
X FACTOR hopeful Ottavio Columbro was forced to call the police after being accused of 'cyberbullying' a schoolgirl in a bizarre trolling row.
The 24-year-old, half of duo Ottavio and Bradley, is alleged to have told the unnamed schoolgirl that she was a “stupid pathetic lowlife”, called her an “ugly little f****r” and urged her to “crawl in a hole and die” in a vile online rant.
However, the fame-hungry singer says that the transcript of the scathing attack – which has been circulating on Twitter for years – is a fake, and has alerted police.
Ottavio is accused of making the vile slurs shortly after his appearance on Channel 4 show Coach Trip back in 2014, on which he appeared alongside singing partner Bradley Hunt.
He is said to have singled out a young girl after she tweeted support for his show rivals Will and Craig, and is accused of sending abusive messages straight to her inbox from a Twitter account that has since been deleted.
The messages read: “OMG I really dislike you for many reasons firstly I am 100% sure cheating took place by Will and Craig I know on the 18th you stuck up for them.
"And taking the piss out of me you are a stupid pathetic low life who needs to crawl in a hole and die, I hope this makes you cry.
"I know you are 13 but doesn't give you an excuse to be an ugly little f****er outside and a fat b*****d on the inside.
"I will never like you.
"Go die now please bye."
And to make sure there was no mistaking the tone of the messages, the end of aggressive rant is punctuated with three ‘fist’ emojis.
Ottavio’s team stress that the Southampton-born wannabe has been the victim of cruel hoax, and that he reported the damaging transcript to local authorities in 2014 and again at the weekend when it began recirculating hours after his appearance on the ITV talent show.
They told The Sun online that an independent expert believes the damning image has been created using photo-editing software, citing the mysterious lines above the profile image and the lack of timestamp after the final message.
Hampshire Police confirmed a man had reported two incidents of his image being used to make a fake Twitter account, but told The Sun online that technically no crime has been committed.
But despite the mercurial singer’s denials, Lorna Sales, who appeared on the same series of Coach Trip as the eccentric pair is adamant that the transcript is genuine - and is outraged that the duo have been put through to the next round of the show.
She told The Sun online: “When I saw what was going on on Twitter after our series of Coach Trip aired, I had to step in.
"Ottavio and Bradley are vile and don't deserve to be on any show - let alone a primetime one aimed at families.
"This looks like it was bullying to a minor and as I do a lot of work for the NSPCC I felt it was my duty to get involved back then - and the same again now."
Lorna adds that she has reached out to both Simon Cowell and X Factor producers to highlight the row, but has yet to hear from any official show reps.
Ottavio and Bradley divided viewers when they appeared on Saturday night's show.
The pair almost came to blows over a row over uncooked chicken - but many viewers labelled it an act to get screen time.
The duo have a well-documented history of reality TV appearances, having also appeared on Judge Rinder to dispute the ownership of a £12.99 necklace.
On Monday we revealed that Bradley had previously auditioned for Britain's Got Talent - and just like at the weekend, he sang a song about chicken.
Ottavio's manager told The Sun online: "These claims have caused great distress to Ottavio.
"Due to the severity of the situation the Police are now involved and are investigating this.
"Ottavio originally reported this to the Police back in 2014". "
A rep for X Factor has been approached for comment.
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