Louis Walsh gushed Jedward were ‘two of the nicest guys you could meet’ while signed as their manager off the back of their X Factor success.
The music manger, 71, heaped praise on the pop act after they ‘made him millions’ while under his wing, which was a stark contrast to the controversial remarks he made during Tuesday’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother.
Louis has caused outrage after labelling the twin brothers, John and Edward Grimes ‘vile’, when he was quizzed on what he thought of them by his co-star Colson Smith.
The remarks were one of the latest in a string of bizarre rants about fellow celebs, which have also been aimed at Adele, James Corden and Ronan Keating.
During the exchange, Louis revealed he had ‘made £5million’ from the double act during his time as their manager between 2009 and 2013.
Louis Walsh gushed that Jedward were ‘two of the nicest guys you could meet’ while signed as their manager off the back of their X Factor success (pictured on Celebrity Big Brother)
The music manger, 71, heaped praise on the pop act after they ‘made him millions’ while under his wing, which was a stark contrast to the controversial remarks he made during Tuesday’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother (pictured on the X Factor in 2009)
Soon after the comments aired on ITV, John and Edward took X to dispute Louis’ claims and branded him a ‘cold-hearted b****d’.
However, Louis’ opinion of the singers was the complete opposite in Jedward’s official biography, Our Story, which charts their journey to becoming finalists on The X Factor in 2009 and the year after they hit the big time.
During the time they were flush with success, Louis penned the foreword to the book as he described them as loveable ‘charmers’.
He wrote: ‘The moment I looked at John and Edward, I knew the kids were going to love them.
‘They had something that I saw in them from the very start, and of course, Simon [Cowell] claimed this was just because they were from Dublin.
‘It wasn’t – I’m not even from Dublin. I could see they had something and I liked their attitude. Whatever the X factor is, I was sure that John and Edward had it beneath the surface.’
Louis described the duo as ‘charmers’ who had fellow judges Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue ‘in the palms of their hands at the first audition’ and said that putting them through to the live stages ‘turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made on the show’.
He continued: ‘Behind the scenes I got to know the boys and they were so hard-working and just enjoying every minute of their newfound fame. At the same time, a lot of people were beginning to give them a hard time.
Louis has caused outrage after labelling the twin brothers, John and Edward Grimes ‘vile’, when he was quizzed on what he thought of them by his co-star Colson Smith
During the exchange, Louis revealed that he had ‘made £5million’ from the double act during his time as their manager between 2009 and 2013 (pictured on the X Factor in 2009)
‘I have to say I was passionate about sticking up for John and Edward, and full of admiration for the way they handled everything. They were two kids who were just following their dream and people everywhere were crazy about them. I told them not to let the ones who were giving them a tough time get them down – and they didn’t.’
Louis told how he ‘began to think seriously about it’ when he was asked whether he would manage the twins and realised: ‘I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with John and Edward.’
He went on: ‘They had something special and I knew they were not just going to fade into oblivion like so many X Factor acts had in the past. I decided that I wanted to work with them full time and it was a decision I have not come to regret. Before long, there were not enough days in the week for all the calls we were getting about the boys.’
Louis dubbed their success ‘a phenomenon I hadn’t seen in years’ and said he knew that their album ‘would sell like hotcakes’.
He explained: ‘I knew the record companies would all want to work with the boys: they are different – young, exciting and full of energy. Who wouldn’t get a good feeling out of managing them?’
Soon after the comments aired on ITV , John and Edward took X to dispute Louis’ claims and branded him a ‘cold-hearted b****d
However, Louis’ opinion of the singers was the complete opposite in Jedward’s official biography, Our Story, which charts their journey to becoming finalists on The X Factor in 2009 and the year after they hit the big time (pictured in 2012)
At the time he was plotting more success, adding: ‘I think they have a fantastic career ahead of them and could turn their hands to anything, from TV presenting to modelling.
‘Everyone that the boys have worked with, from record companies to fast food giants, comes back to me to say that they just want to work with John and Edward again.
‘It’s their positive attitude that has made them more successful than other people who were on the show.
‘They are always in the right frame of mind and they always deliver – they are everything a pop star is meant to be.
‘Another thing I have noticed is that they haven’t let it all affect them. Things could really have gone to their heads but John and Edward have remained true to themselves.
Following the music manager’s remarks, Jedward insisted that ‘justice would be served’, as they launched into a scathing tirade on their X account.
A final tweet read: ‘Louis reopened these wounds all by himself being spiteful and disrespectful we aren’t going to have our character taken. Justice will be served’
‘Right from the very first day on the show, they never altered who they are for anybody: they are the genuine article and not prepared to compromise. Working with Jedward has brought so much of the fun factor back into my job.’
He ended his tribute to boys by hailing them as ‘truly unique’ and predicting that they would break America.
He said: ‘It just gets more and more exciting. My phone never stops ringing with people wanting to book them and long may it continue.
‘Jedward are two of the nicest guys that you could meet and as long as they are still having fun, I think we will have them around for a long time to come.’
The flattery is in stark contrast to Louis slating Jedward as ‘vile’ when he was asked by his CBB housemate, Coronation Street actor Colson, what they were like.
Colson had asked Louis, who managed the pair four four years: ‘What were Jedward like?’
The Irishman replied: ‘They were vile.’
Colson said: ‘They’ve done well’, and Louis said: ‘I got £5million from them. I swear on my mother’s life.’
Clearly impressed, Colson quipped back: ‘B****y hell, I wish I had a Jedward.’
Doubling down on his opinion, Louis added: ‘And they were vile. But they were novelty. It was great for the show. It was all about the show.’
That saw the brothers – now 32 – launch into a series of scathing online accusations in response.
They kicked off by calling him a ‘cold-hearted b****d who didn’t even send us flowers when our mom died’ – the twins lost their mum Susanna to cancer in 2019.
Following the music manager’s remarks, Jedward insisted that ‘justice would be served’, as they continued the tirade on their X account.
One of the tweets shared by the brothers claimed: ‘Louis Walsh is an evil manipulator who forced us into an office to pay £70k from our bank account to one of his own PR workers.’
During the episode, Jedward were having dinner with their close friend and former TOWIE star Gemma Collins
Jedward took to social media to fire back at Louis following his comments
Another said: ‘Louis Walsh b****d and talked about us to our best friend Tara Reid and then we fired him!’
A final tweet read: ‘Louis reopened these wounds all by himself being spiteful and disrespectful we aren’t going to have our character taken. Justice will be served.’
During the episode, Jedward were having dinner with their close friend and former TOWIE star Gemma Collins.
Gemma quickly jumped to their defence on Instagram as she admitted she ‘couldn’t believe’ what was being said.
She posted: ‘Shocked to see what was said about my boys. They are the sweetest, talented, polite, educated, kind boys I’ve ever met hence why they are always in my company!! TEAM JEDWARD. #Jedward’.
The Irish music mogul Walsh managed the pair between 2009 and 2013, but things turned sour when, in 2016, Walsh described the duo as ‘the most embarrassing thing to happen to him’.
That’s despite boasting of making millions after Jedward’s first two albums went platinum in Ireland, while they also represented their country at Eurovision in 2011 and 2012.
Gemma quickly jumped to their defence on Instagram as she admitted she ‘couldn’t believe’ what was being said
Ironically Louis defended the brothers during The X Factor in 2009 when Simon Cowell called them ‘vile’ – the same term he used in the CBB house.
He argued that they were ‘innocent children’ at the time, when Simon hissed that they were ‘vile little creatures’.
Elsewhere in the Jedward biography, Louis continues to fawn over his charges. He said: ‘You either have that special something or you don’t and I thought that they had it in spades… they are nice to everybody, from the people on the street to the people in the record company – and that’s why they have so many fans.
‘Everyone wants to work with them because they are just so hard-working and genuinely nice. John and Edward make the people that they meet smile and they make them feel special – that is their secret and that is what sets them apart from a lot of people.
‘Their attitude is 100 per cent positive all of the time and that is why they are where they are now.’
Despite that, the twins say in the book that one of their manager’s primary pieces of advice to them was ‘always break the rules’.
John added: ‘Louis always tells us to never follow the rules and always break out and be different: but we don’t attention seek, things just work out well for us.’
But Louis maintained that the quiff-topped singers were the perfect pop stars to work with.
He said: ‘They never complain and they just want to work, work, work – how would I ever regret taking them on?
‘The boys are a manager’s dream and they are having the time of their lives… I wish every act was like that and then there would be no trouble: Jedward are the best-behaved group I have ever came across in 30 years in the business.’
Louis is even quoted backstage before a Dublin show boasting: ‘I have never seen either of them in a bad mood.’
The official book also reveals that in their first flush of fame Louis put the brakes on a proposed appearance for the twins on Celebrity Big Brother in 2010, stating: ‘They just weren’t prepared to give us enough money.’
Louis’ acid-tongue struck again later in the episode when he branded Andrew Lloyd Webber a ‘freak’ during a conversation with Sharon Osbourne about his musical, Starlight Express
Louis said: ‘He’s a bit of a freak, Lloyd Webber. He’s a strange man’
He bragged by April 2010 that he was turning down countless jobs for Jedward as the money rolled in with the pair booked solid for months.
Louis said: ‘Everyone wanted them, from Celebrity Big Brother to huge magazines, and we have just had to turn down so many people.
‘They can’t be everywhere so we have to go with the best offers for them and things that are going to stand for John and Edward, long-term.
‘They are now signed to Next Models and this is going to be huge for them. If they weren’t pop stars, then they could easily be models – anyone can see that.’
But the brothers would go on CBB a year later – 2011 – alongside when they finished third and became best pals with US actress Tara Reid in the process.
Louis – who once claimed he turned down a million pounds to go in the I’m A Celebrity jungle – then followed suit by going into the house this year.