Cher Lloyd claims record label told her to 'go and seduce' Justin Bieber to boost career
Cher Lloyd claims record label told her to 'go and seduce' Justin Bieber to boost career
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British pop star Cher Lloyd has opened up about the sexism she faced at the start of her music career. During a recent episode of the podcast We Need to Talk, the 31-year-old singer discussed everything from her upbringing in the Romany community to her X Factor journey and her relationship with her husband.
The Want U Back hitmaker revealed the pressure she was under to "show more skin" and use her sexuality to advance her career. She shared that record executives suggested she "hook up" with Justin Bieber to promote her album in the US, rather than providing her with a promotional budget.
Cher, who appeared on the seventh series of The X Factor alongside One Direction, released her debut album 'Sticks and Stones' in 2011 after finishing fourth on the show. When promoting her album in the US, Cher asked her record label for "some cash to try and push" the record.
However, they refused, leaving her without a promotional budget despite spending millions on producing the album. Instead, she was told to take matters into her own hands: "What I needed to do to make this record take off is hit some of the clubs and find out where Bieber is," she recalled being advised, adding that she was explicitly told she "should go and try to get with him.".
She explained: "Now this is going back years ago. I was a teenager but I was very much with my husband at that same time. He was even stood in that office while I was told they weren't going to spend any money on the album. That I was to go hook up with someone mega famous and basically leech off the back of someone else’s fame. Was I not good enough to invest in that you would rather use me in that way? They didn't care.".
