<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Christopher Maloney has claimed he is being bullied as part of a &amp;quot;witch hunt&amp;quot;. The X Factor finalist took to Twitter tonight (December 9) to deny reports that he was kicked off tonight&amp;#039;s final after turning up to rehearsals &amp;#039;smelling of alcohol&amp;#039;.  He posted: &amp;quot;yes I am being bullied! big time. there u go xx witch hunt xx&amp;quot; He began by denying the reports surrounding his absence from tonight&amp;#039;s final in Manchester, saying that he had a &amp;quot;sore throat&amp;quot;. He tweeted: &amp;quot;thank u @TheXFactor had a wonderful Time. an amazing experience. love u all. sorry I had a sore throat an doctor signed me off. good luck x&amp;quot;   He continued: &amp;quot;take no notice of crap in papers! I&amp;#039;m fine. it&amp;#039;s just a final stretch of sensational headlines lol. whatever xx we know the truth xx&amp;quot; He took a moment to congratulate winner James Arthur before continuing to address the headlines that have been written about him. Maloney then posted to thank fans for their support but branded those who want a &amp;quot;final dig&amp;quot; as &amp;quot;disgusting&amp;quot;. He then tweeted fellow contestant Carolynne Poole: &amp;quot;@CarolynnePoole you&amp;#039;ll do anything to get a headline! disgraceful! week one! bitter.&amp;quot; It was reported earlier today that Maloney had been banned from the final after calling Poole a &amp;#039;c***&amp;#039; during rehearsals, resulting in producers kicking him out of tonight&amp;#039;s group performance. Watch Christopher Maloney perform Irene Cara&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Flashdance... What a Feeling&amp;#039; on The X Factor below:      Photo gallery - The X Factor final 2012:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-x-factor/news/a444080/x-factor-christopher-maloney-hits-back-at-critics-im-being-bullied/>