Natalia Kills and Willy Moon sacked from X Factor New Zealand after branding contestant 'disgusting' and a 'laughing stock'

A husband and wife duo have been sacked from the judging panel of X Factor New Zealand after they launched a scathing verbal attack on one of the contestants.

Judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were axed from the show after they branded contestant Joe Irvine a “laughing stock”.

Irvine took to the stage to sing his rendition of Cry Me a River but was labelled “disgusting” and cheesy” when he finished.

Natalia Kills accused the contestant of copying her husband's act.

Kills, 25 – whose real name is Natalia Noemi Cappuccini-Sinclair - said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to state the obvious, we have a doppelgänger in our midst.

“As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you've copied my husband.

“You're a laughing stock. It's cheesy, it's disgusting. I personally found it absolutely artistically atrocious.”

Irvine attempted to hit back at the comments and questioned the judge’s own appearance, asking, “But don’t you copy Cleopatra?”. He was met with silence.

Despite roaring boos from the audience Moon, 25, stepped in and compared Irvine to the killer in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. He said: “It's like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing, it feels a little creepy and I feel like you are going to stitch someone's skin to your face and then kill everybody in the audience.”

In a statement released on Monday MediaWorks’ chief executive, Mark Weldon said the “destructive tirades” were unacceptable and that they “no longer have confidence that Kills and Moon are the right people to perform the role of X Factor judges and they will leave the show, effective immediately.”

All Saints singer Melanie Blatt was among a swathe of viewers who took to social media to criticise Kills and Moon. Alongside a screen shot of a tweet from Kills thanking fans for their support, Blatt tweeted: "I've tried to keep my cool and stay professional but really @nataliekills ? Sorry love , you're a t***."

Kills is best known for her 2013 single Saturday Night while Moon’s song Yeah Yeah appeared on an iPod commercial. The couple married last year.