Cher Lloyd: 'I'm a businesswoman, not a celebrity'
Speaking to Heat magazine, the 'Swagger Jagger' star acknowledged that she had been "a real bitch" during her time on The X Factor, but insisted that she had been overwhelmed by the level of criticism she had received.
"I'm not your average celebrity. I'm not a celebrity," Lloyd said. "I never ever will be. I'm not someone to get out of a cab with my drawers on show. I'm here to make music. I am a businesswoman. I'm in this to make a good life for myself."
Discussing her rise to fame on the ITV1 competition, she commented: "I was very stubborn back then. I put up a guard and I didn't want anyone to come near me. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed interest in me. So I was a bitch, a real bitch. Knowing what I know now, I would've dealt with situations a lot more calmer.
"I was just so angry and frustrated that people had taken my life off of me, even though I had gone on the show. I went through absolute stress and mayhem. I couldn't go out, because people were constantly on my back all the time. I just felt like I was doing something I loved, but there was another part of it that I absolutely hated."
Describing the situation as a "vicious circle", Lloyd added: "There was no way I can stick up for myself, because I know I did wrong. I didn't commit a crime or anything, but I did something wrong. I was a total brat. It's good to have attitude, but I see my attitude as passion now instead of just anger.
"Do you know what, I feel like I might as well say it, because it feels like no-one else has the balls to say it. We're known as public property, [but] just because we're singers and this is wh! at we've dreamed of doing forever, it doesn't mean you can knock us to the ground and treat us like s**t. We're real people. We're no different to you or other people, except we're doing what we love. And, believe me, it's hard work."
Rex Features / Ken McKay/Rex Features
The 18-year-old also said that she has decided to no longer "talk to anyone about my love life", admitting that she doesn't "feel like me anymore".
She told the magazine of her engagement to boyfriend Craig Monk: "People are negative no matter what you do. People are always going to say, 'She's too young'. I'm from a Gypsy background! I'm meant to be married by now.
"I'm happy, really happy. I love him to pieces, more than anything in the world, but I don't want people to take that away from me. It's just a constant criticising; 'Oh, she should be doing that, she should be doing this'. I'm 18 years old. I know I've got my whole life ahead of me, but why not get hitched now?"
Read the full interview with Cher Lloyd in the new issue of Heat, out today.
> Cher Lloyd apologises for Cheryl Cole dig: 'It was just a little joke'
> Cher Lloyd debuts acoustic mix of new single 'Want U Back'
Watch the video for Cher Lloyd's new single 'Want U Back' below:
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