Louis Walsh divides fans with 'horrendous' reaction to Stephen Gately headline

Fans have been left offended by former X Factor judge Louis Walsh’s “horrendous” reaction to a headline about the late Boyzone singer Stephen Gately.

No Matter What, released on 2 February on Now and Sky Documentaries, features candid interviews and footage of Boyzone members Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Gateley, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham.

Walsh, the man widely considered the mastermind behind the band, says in the film, “I prefer ordinary people, because they work harder. And they do whatever you want at the start.”

Part of the documentary focuses on late singer Gately, who died in October 2009, aged 33. The programme looks at when the singer publicly came out as gay, when pressured by a tabloid.

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Walsh smiles as he looks back on how the news made front-page headlines. Meanwhile, main singer Keating is seen breaking down in tears.

“Wow, this is when the song was big,” Walsh says smiling. “And it’s the lead story.”

“Found this on TikTok and this is the very reason why I will never like Louis Walsh ever again,” wrote one person on X/Twitter. “F***ing horrendous that smile on his face.”

“Absolutely horrifying,” said another.

Others more neutral about Walsh, felt differently after the documentary: “Watched this last night and definitely seen Louis Walsh in a different light and think he 100 per cent sold Stephen out.”

Band say they endured ‘cruel’ times (Getty Images)
Band say they endured ‘cruel’ times (Getty Images)

The Independent has contacted representatives for Louis Walsh for comment.

A synopsis for the documentary reads: “They were one of the most successful and iconic boybands of all time – but behind-the-scenes, conflict and rivalry, betrayal and tragedy led to their falling apart.

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“Now, thirty years on, all four remaining members - Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham, as well as their estranged manager, Louis Walsh – reveal the truth of what really happened, the extraordinary highs of their meteoric rise to fame, and the huge costs that being in a boyband had on each of them.”

The documentary also details the “cruel” treatment that the boyband suffered under Walsh’s management.

Lynch admits that the former X Factor judge “promised us the sun, moon, and stars.” Walsh is apparently unapologetic as he says: “They believed their own publicity. They forgot I wrote it.”

The group admits they went through some “cruel” times during their run in the group under Walsh’s leadership.

“There were things that happened that were cruel,” says Duffy in the trailer.

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”We were a bunch of kids put together. We weren’t perfect, we weren’t polished,” Keating says in the trailer for the film.

Walsh in ‘No Matter What’ (Sky Documentaries/NOW)
Walsh in ‘No Matter What’ (Sky Documentaries/NOW)

The documentary comes after Walsh delivered an expletive-ridden rant against Keating during his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother last year.

As music by the singer played in the house, Walsh described it as a “great song”, before telling Sharon Osbourne: “He was such a p****.

“Everybody thinks he’s a lovely guy, do you know what I mean?”

Walsh then claimed: “He hasn’t had a hit record since I left. He sacked me.”

No Matter What is available to watch now.