0/5

Tearful Altiyan Childs at rock bottom

Altiyan Childs becomes another case of a Reality TV star whose brush with fame has turned sour.

A tearful Altiyan Childs told Today Tonight he was broke and wanted to return to his former career as a forklift driver.

The X Factor winner told TT he was the victim of his ex-manager Steve Gold (real name Steve Yankuloff), who had not paid him for album royalties.

“I have no money that’s as simple as that. I think I’m probably about $400,000, $300,000 down,” he said.

“I don’t know what I’m doing it for, I would rather be a forklift driver and I’ve considered definitely, I saw my boss two days ago and I said, ‘Mate, you keep that seat warm for me’.”

Childs claims he never saw any equipment to create drugs at Gold’s home, which was raided by police on April 1st.

Gold told TT he has documentation to prove he managed Childs affairs properly, but wasn’t interviewed. 35 year old Childs currently has a 19 year old girlfriend and is a close friend of a woman and her 15 year old daughter.

None of it is the kind of publicity the show needs as it is scouring the country for its next batch of contestants.

Today Ronan Keating tells the Daily Telegraph Childs has probably played the wrong card at times.

“Altiyan’s problem is he has a very big heart and lets people in. We all know what this industry is like and people like to jump on the train when celebrity is involved. It can be a train wreck sometimes.

“Maybe I need to do some media training with my next contestants.”

Last year TV Tonight specifically asked the X Factor mentor / judges if their contestants would be getting media training.

“You’re not going to last if you have no media training. It’s a multi-talented facet being able to be an artist,” Guy Sebastian said.

“I’m tired of seeing a lot of these shows where these kids are 16 years of age on this show that says ‘We’re going to turn you into a superstar’ but once it’s over they’re just thrown to the wolves.”

39 Responses

  1. People remember it was us that voted for Altiyan to win not the judges, so that in itself says to me that he was popular. The other thing is that we’re all human & yes indeed we all make mistakes. As for his lovelife we wish him the best. So what if there is a 16 year gap, she’s still old enough. Finally what the hell is wrong with having a friendship with a family that has a 15 year daughter!!

  2. My son & myself had the greatest pleasure in meeting Altiyan in Oct 2010 whilst my son was in hospital in Sydney. We had followed him on tv every week knowing he was special. He sang for us & then to my son’s delight he came over & spoke to him & just not rushed either like a lot of stars do. We both will always wish him the best, he’s a hero in my eyes, he must’nt be that bad a person if he could get my boy to smile & laugh which hadn’t done for 2 years. Altiyan there will always be knockers, but there are also a loyal fans to. All the best XOXO

  3. You lot whining on that he has no talent are pathetic. The man has been filling venues and sold a Lot of albums, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t like him – plenty do. And having seen him in concert myself, I have to say he’s streets ahead of some of the high-priced acts I’ve seen over the years. He’s made some mistakes and needs to be more careful of the company he keeps and get professional quality management and advice. He’s a tricky personality – he’s open and loving and too trusting. He needs to be a lot more cynical and hardnosed and untrusting. Because he’s going to be dealing with a lot of creeps in this game. You only have to read this thread to realise that. People ready to criticise and smear, take advantage … oh, and the Aussie specialty – kick them while they’re down, baby!

  4. @dwight-polite (great name, by the way!) yes, amateur singers are a dime a dozen, there is no denying that. Thousands upon thousands of people audition for shows like X-Factor and Idol, which suggests to me that being able to carry a tune is not exactly a skill in short supply in this country, nor is it rocket science. Many more thousands of amateur singers earn a quid by singing at clubs, pubs, etc.

    Yes, negative (and positive) commentators on websites are a dime a dozen as well, I agree with you on that. It is not a crime to comment on people who are in the news, like Altiyan is at the moment. As this thread makes obvious, not everyone is as enamoured of him as you are. Some of us think he is downright ordinary, as is our right and we are free to express that as you are to defend him. If Altiyan was my brother or friend,I’d be counselling him to get his head together and clean up his act or abandon it and go back to forklift driving. The choice is his, no one is holding a gun at his head forcing him to be in showbiz.

  5. You guys are idiots, hey he may have known about his manager, but how many of you people have friends that tell noone? you people are not damn gods and are far from perfect, yes he is having a hard time but he is such a good singer I am positive he will get back on the horse. If this is the way Australia treats you when you are down come to New Zealand Altiyan we will treat you with the respect you deserve. Last comment you people make me sick look in your own backyard before coming down so hard on a guy who really needs support.

  6. @ Allie , oh you talk about amateur singers being truly a dime a dozen , I think critical and negative commentators are a dime a dozen , I just knew that most people on here would be against this man as soon as I clicked on these comments on this page .

    I bet It would be a different story If Altiyan Childs was your , brother or son or friend , then let’s see you being so harsh . but because the man Is famous , he Is a easy target to spit on .

  7. @ Allie, well said, couldn’t agree more. At the start of the TT story they said they were going to get to the bottom of the assault and the hotel trashing, yet neither were mentioned. I hope X factor is a bit more selective with who they put through to the final 12 this year.

  8. @Diane, if this guy was in his teens or early 20’s, I’d have more sympathy for him, but he is 30 freaking 5, which ain’t that far from middle age. He has been involved in the music industry before as a member of a band, so he is not an innocent little lamb totally new to the music industry. The old adage “wake up to yourself” springs to mind here. Anyone, no matter what your age, can be conned by a smart operator, so I have sympathy for him there with his manager, but not much else. He is a train wreck.

    What his story highlights is the hardnosed, pitiless and parasitic nature of showbiz and modern celebrity. Truly, only the very strong survive, it is no place for anyone who is even as remotely unworldly and “out there” as Altiyan. As for his alleged talent – meh. Amateur singers are truly a dime a dozen, there are bazillions of people out there who can sing well, honestly, they clog up pubs, clubs, venues,halls, karaoke bars, etc, the length and breadth of this country. It’s not that special a skill unless someone is really, really outstandingly out of the box. Altiyan is an adequate rock style singer, nothing more.

  9. Anyone that believes he had no idea what was going on in that house has rocks in their head.

    I have very little sympathy for this bloke and there is no way he is a ‘gifted’ singer.

  10. I don’t quite understand the relevance of mentioning Altiyan is close friends with a woman with a 15 y/o daughter? I’m sure he has a number of friends with children – why mention it?

    1. Peterpeter: TT made a point of addressing Altiyan’s personal life, so given it was such a big part of the story it would be remiss of me not to note it. Frankly I was more interested in how a Reality winner was faring post-series which was the point of the article.

Leave a Reply