Nicole Scherzinger Was Coached by Paula Abdul to Vote Rachel Crow Off X Factor

The latest drama on X Factor USA continues to generate plenty of controversy because, this time, it centered around 13-year-old aspiring singer Rachel Crow. As it turns out, Nicole Scherzinger didn't even take the time to think through the decision: she just did what she was told to do.

As we also informed you at the time, it all started when Nicole had to choose between Rachel and Marcus Canty. In other words, she had to choose the act she was sending home.

The other judges had already cast their votes and Nicole's was decisive: if she chose to send Marcus home, Rachel would remain in the competition; if she chose Rachel, the decision would go to deadlock and a contestant would be eliminated based on public vote.

Nicole opted for the latter, much to the dismay of the public, who still believes she should have been more decisive than she was, because it was her job to.

TMZ tinkered a bit with the audio of that part of the show and, as the video below will confirm, Nicole only booted Rachel after Paula Abdul told her so.

Even more, knowing this, it certainly looks as if Nicole doesn't even make an effort to decide for her own, choosing instead to just follow blindly another's lead.

“Just let it go to a deadlock. Just let it go,” Paula can be heard saying, even though her microphone was turned down to a minimum.

And it's precisely what Nicole does: trying to explain that she doesn't want to have to choose, she sends Rachel home, thus sending the decision to deadlock.

The move infuriated viewers at home, because Nicole acted very much like a judge should not: instead of making a decision based on the performances she had just seen, she got all emotional and made sure she didn't have to choose.

When Rachel heard that she was going home, she had one of the most dramatic and talked about meltdowns ever to take place on the scene of a talent competition of the kind.

Check out the video below to see Nicole taking leads from Paula Abdul.