[MarkWaldorf]

vultures the lot of you! i told ya'll cheryl was innocent.

Cheryl Cole was reportedly told not to pick X Factor's Gamu Nhengu as one of her three finalists due to fears that her visa may not be renewed.

Viewers of the ITV reality show have reacted furiously after Cole chose not to put Gamu through to the live shows, over 133,000 of whom have now joined a Facebook campaign.

"It was made clear Gamu shouldn't go through because of the visa," an insider told The Mirror. "Cheryl didn't have a say."

It is claimed that Cole was ordered not to choose the 18-year-old Zimbabwe-born singer over concerns that her visa would not be renewed, leading to her having to leave the country.

A production source said: "Cheryl didn't have much of a say in the matter. It was made clear that Gamu shouldn't be put through because they had issues with her, including the visa.

"A lot of people on the show think it's really unfair that Cheryl is taking all the flak as it was a group decision and she was just following orders."

They continued: "It's ridiculous the situation has got this far. It should have been knocked on the head much earlier on. Gamu should never have been put through to the Judges' Houses with question marks surrounding her visa.

"Everyone on the show has themselves to blame for not being straight from the beginning. Gamu not getting through has now become a bigger talking point than the 12 finalists."

An X Factor spokesman added: "Gamu's visa being processed was not the reason that she didn't make the final 12."

However, he apparently confirmed that the papers are still being renewed and therefore have not yet been processed.

Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/...isa-fears.html