Former X Factor judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon. Photo: The X Factor NZ
Willy Moon and Natalia Kills have left the country after being fired as X Factor NZ judges.
The husband and wife were spotted last night at Auckland International Airport, neither speaking to the media, before boarding a flight to Los Angeles.
The couple made headlines on Sunday night after they were accused of bulling contestant Joe Irvine on live TV.
Kills accused the singer of aping the style of Moon. She told Irvine he was “disgusting” and “artistically atrocious”.
Moon then chimed in, saying: “I feel like you’re going to stitch someone’s skin to your face and then kill everybody in the audience.”
According to The Herald the controversy led to a major jump in ratings with 256,000 more viewers watching Monday night's live show compared to the night before, taking the total to nearly 440,000.
An online petition calling for Kills to be taken off the show and the Facebook page Fire Natalia Kills from X Factor NZ were launched after the tirade. The change.org petition has over 77,000 supporters.
There are also reports that former fans of the pair are deleting their music as the backlash from their bullying tirade continues.
Recording artists Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding reached out to Irvine via twitter and Lorde sent the 25-year-old contestant cupcakes and a note showing her support.
Kills and Moon's departure from the New Zealand came hours after MediaWorks announced it would be naming new judges within the next two days.
