Australian Actor Matthew Newton's mugshot after his 2012 arrest in Florida. Photo / Getty
Australian Actor Matthew Newton's mugshot after his 2012 arrest in Florida. Photo / Getty
The controversy over X Factor contestant Shae Brider's killer past is not the first time the show has been mired in scandal.
Five years ago, the Australian version of the show dumped one of its hosts - troubled Underbelly star Matthew Newton - after two alleged assaults on his then-girlfriend.
The shock announcement came only a week before the then-new show's debut.
Newton had been on holiday in Italy with Australian actress Rachael Taylor when he allegedly assaulted the Transformers star on August 13 and 14, 2010.
The actress reportedly screamed for help as he assaulted her in the lobby of Rome's Westin Excelsior hotel. She was said to be left with bruising after hitting her head on the marble floor.
Taylor also accused Newton of trying to choke her and of ramming her head into a wall.
In a separate incident, a tearful Taylor was reportedly found cowering in an X Factor Australia dressing room after Newton had trashed it.
Taylor later took out an apprehended violence order against Newton, citing "unprovoked violent assaults" and "significant fears for her safety".
X Factor's producers ditched Newton less than a fortnight after the alleged assault in Rome - and in the same month he was appointed to the show.
He was reportedly sent packing to Australia while in the middle of filming in Europe.
The show replaced him as host with Home and Away star Luke Jacobz.
Newton, who has suffered from mental illness and drug issues, released a statement after being dumped, saying he had stood down for health reasons. The star then went into rehab.
The statement said he was committed to X Factor and had tried his "utmost" to make it work.
"He has the support of his family and close circle of friends as he works his way back to full health," the statement said.
It later emerged in a book by Graeme Blundell that Taylor had suffered 12 months of "physical and verbal abuse at the hands of the actor, including concussion, bruising and a sprained jaw".
It was not the first or last time Newton was accused of violence.
In 2007, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his former girlfriend, actress Brooke Satchwell, by punching and pushing her against the wall of his home in Sydney. She reportedly begged him to stop as he assaulted her.
The conviction was later quashed due to Newton's mental health issues.
Matthew Newton and Rachael Taylor appear in public together 11 months before he allegedly assaulted her. Photo / Getty
In 2012, while fleeing from the public glare in the United States, he was arrested in Florida for allegedly resisting arrest and trespassing at a restaurant.
X Factor's latest controversy comes after convicted killer Shae Brider, 29, successfully auditioned for the New Zealand show.
Brider, then 19, was sentenced to 8 years in jail for his part in the manslaughter of Jeremy Frew, 16, in Wanganui in 2004.
He was one of four charged over the death after what the judge described as a "rampage of violence" where the group assaulted three others on the same night.
Although he discussed the crime on the show, the producers were accused of failing to fully disclose the facts or inform Brider's victim's family.
In a statement, broadcaster MediaWorks said the show did not intend to upset the family, adding Brider had "paid his debt to society" through the justice system.
