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News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Reality music TV survivors lift the lid on behind-the-scenes hell
Popular entertainer Rob Mills still feels 'really sad' for his younger self who momentarily contemplated taking his life after he was eliminated from the first season of Australian Idol. The singer and actor recalled suffering a panic attack when he was mobbed by fans and put in a headlock one night on the Gold Coast after his exit from the reality television juggernaut in 2003. To escape the hysterical crowd, he jumped into the car of a stranger who dropped him at his hotel. Back in the safety of his room and looking at the open door to the balcony, Mills 'had that split second moment of like, you could just end it. You don't have to worry about the panic or the crazy anymore.' He raced to the door and slammed it shut. Mills, an R U OK? ambassador, shares the harrowing experience in a new LISTNR podcast The Moment It Changed: Touchdown, that lifts the lid on the exploitation of contestants and the often harrowing aftermath of life after starring on the mega-rating dream factories of Australian Idol, The X Factor and The Voice. 'I still get emotional thinking about it. Yeah, I still get really sad for that kid. He was just so scared,' Mills says on the podcast. 'And now I go, what a life I've had. What experiences I've got to have because of just knowing that, 'Oh, you don't have to do that.' 'It still gets me like, lucky for me, I know who I am. I have a very good sense of self. I've got great friends, great self-worth. 'But I think it's just when I think back to that kid, I go, 'Ah, that poor kid. He didn't know.' And no one was there to go, 'Hey mate, it's gonna be a bit shit for a bit.'' The three-part series features past winners Casey Donovan, Dami Im and Karise Eden and contestants Bella Ferraro and Katie Underwood as well as Idol judges Mark Holden and Ian 'Dicko' Dickson. Like Mills, Donovan was signed and then quickly dropped by Idol labels BMG and Sony even as inaugural winner Guy Sebastian was being presented with a $1 million cheque for the record-breaking sales of his debut album. After being spat out by the music industry machine in 2007, then 18-year-old Donovan found work as a receptionist of a medical centre. When the media discovered her day job, she was cast as the 'forgotten Idol.' Now she is one of Australia's most popular musical theatre stars. 'People would come in and ... 'Aren't you Casey Donovan? I voted for you. Why are you here?' And I'd get this pity look ... Like, I need to earn money to live,' she says. Eden reveals the devastating toll to her mental health after winning the first series of The Voice in 2012. The shy, vulnerable 19-year-old had endured a harrowing childhood as a homeless youth and state ward and struggled to deal with overnight fame, particularly when fans who related to her struggle often shared their own devastating stories. She 'spun into a downward spiral' and self-harmed during a post Voice tour when approached by relatives she had never met. Eden entered a mental health unit for treatment and the tour was cancelled. Dami Im puts the spotlight on the manipulations of her 'backstory' behind the scenes of The X Factor in 2013 and her struggle for creative control of her recording career at Sony before she finally left the label in 2020.
The Print
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
‘Hang the terrorists,' says mother of chartered accountant killed in Pahalgam
Neeraj and his wife Ayushi were on a vacation in Pahalgam when the terrorists opened fire. The 33-year-old, who had been working as a chartered accountant in Dubai and was in India to attend a wedding, was shot dead by terrorists who opened fire at tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday. Jaipur, Apr 23 (PTI) Rajasthan Law Minister Jogaram Patel and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra paid tribute to Neeraj Udhwani at the airport as his body was brought to Jaipur on Wednesday night. When his body was brought home on Wednesday, a large crowd poured in to his house at Forest View Residency in Jaipur's Model Town and raised slogans like 'Pakistan Murdabad'. Speaking to reporters earlier, Law Minister Patel expressed his condolences. 'In this moment of grief, we stand with the bereaved family,' he said. Patel said Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, BJP State President Madan Rathore and Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani would visit the family on Thursday. He said in light of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, a red alert has been issued in Rajasthan's bordering districts, especially in areas where suspicious activities are likely to occur. 'We have alerted our forces,' he said. Chief Minister Sharma telephoned Neeraj's family members and expressed his condolences. Neeraj's uncle Dinesh Udhwani said his nephew had come from abroad recently to attend a wedding. He said the couple, who married just two years ago, had gone to Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Neeraj was scheduled to return to Dubai after the Kashmir trip. 'His wife informed us that terrorists had shot him,' Dinesh said, recounting the moment in horror. As the news spread, relatives gathered at their residence to stand with the family. Neeraj's mother Jyoti was inconsolable. She had lost her husband nearly ten years ago. 'The terrorists should be hanged,' she said, demanding capital punishment for them. 'India has brotherhood with everyone. A Hindu will never do such an act. Neeraj had come from Dubai for a wedding and had gone to Kashmir. I spoke to him on Monday. He was supposed to come back after five days,' she said. Meanwhile, several protests were held in Jaipur against the terror attack. Various social groups, market associations and social activists demonstrated at Badi Chaupad. An Aakrosh rally was taken out by Sarv Hindu Samaj in Adarsh Nagar. PTI SDA RUK RUK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
