Who is Steve Brookstein? Controversial X Factor winner slammed for Manchester bombing conspiracy theory tweet
STEVE Brookstein has hit the headlines over an "insensitive" tweet about the Manchester bombings.
But just what has the X Factor winner been doing since being crowned the show's first champ? We take a look...
Who is Steve Brookstein?
Steve Brookstein was born November 10, 1968 and is a singer from South London.
On December 11, 2004 he went on to win the first ever series of the X Factor.
Although he got the full backing on his mentor Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne took a dislike to him and said: "Steve is not what he seems. He's a fake, he's not fabulous. That is bull**** that he puts out each week. He is overly confident - he has been full of himself from the first day - and an average singer."
After winning The X Factor, Steve was immediately signed to the Sony BMG record label and released his first single, a cover of Phil Collins' 1984 power ballad Against All Odds which went to number one.
But by August 2005 it was announced that he had been dropped from the label only eight months after his X Factor victory.
What has he done since winning the X Factor?
Steve has continued to perform and also appear in theatre.
In 2008, he played 'the father' in a touring production of the award-winning musical Our House.
In 2014, Steve released his new album Forgotten Man.
He has also released a book called Getting over the X, that describes his journey from winning The X Factor to having the press and industry turn their backs on him
What has Steve Brookstein said about the X Factor since winning the show?
Steve has been quite vocal about his dislike for X Factor now.
In December 2009, when a Facebook campaign was launched to stop the X Factor winner from getting the Christmas number 1 spot, Steve backed the campaign to see Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name reach the top of the chart, and blasted Simon Cowell in an online rant.
He further attacked Simon, claiming the latter "ruined Christmas" and that he was dropped from his record label because he "wouldn't play the game".
Steve also claimed the show was staged and the winner was fixed, and was subsequently removed from the official X Factor website following those comments.
Despite Steve's bitterness towards X Factor, he signed up to critique the show weekly on London 24 in 2010 where he labelled the judges "ridiculous" and questioned the standards of several of the finalists, including One Direction band member, Louis Tomlinson.
What controversial tweet did he post about the Manchester bombing?
Steve sparked outrage by suggesting Theresa May could have been behind the Manchester Arena terror attack.
He said the terror blast that killed 22 people may have been a “false flag”.
He wrote that people with “huge interest in this country don’t want Corbyn” — hinting the slaughter was designed to give the Tories a boost ahead of the general election.
“False flag” is a common term in conspiracy circles suggesting government involvement in terror attacks, and is often used by 9/11 deniers.
Just two hours after the explosion, warped Brookstein wrote: “False flags are not imaginary. These things happen. I’m not saying 100% but the coincidence is concerning”.
Minutes earlier he suggested the bomb, which struck as hundreds of children and adults left the Ariana Grande gig, was a distraction after a difficult day of Tory campaigning.
He wrote: “Theresa May has a terrible day. Awful press and guess what an explosion in Manchester. Can’t make this s*** up”.
“I suggested that there are dark forces that could possibly do it. Not DID do it. Nobody knows who did it”, he wrote at 09:16 this morning.
“It was probably a lone nutjob. But I never close my mind to private interest groups. You just never know”, he added.
After ISIS claimed responsibility for the atrocity, he wrote: “Of course they would”.
