WELLINGTON, New Zealand (The Adobo Chronicles) – Two judges on New Zealand’s X Factor have been fired for “bullying” a contestant live on air after a diatribe that makes Simon Cowell cringe in his judge’s chair.

Husband-and-wife duo Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were booted off the reality show for their “destructive tirade” on Sunday evening.

Kills criticized a 25-year-old contestant, Joe Irvine, on Sunday’s show for allegedly stealing her husband’s look “from the hair to the suit”. She called him “disgusting” and “creepy” and asked: “Do you not have any value or respect for originality?” She even declared that she was “ashamed to be here,” listening to Irvine’s rendition of “Cry Me A River.”

MediaWorks, the owner-operator of TV3, the network that airs X Factor New Zealand, however clarified that the Kills and husband were not fired for their critical comments.

“Kills was fired for her lack of originality when she appeared on the show made up like Cleopatra,” the network said. “We want our judges to be original, just as we expect our contestants to be so.”

The network added: “We want our judges to be critical, but not hypocritical.”

Kills is known for copying the looks of many other famous celebrities.

Here’s the video of Sunday’s segment: