Melanie Blatt defends fellow X Factor judge following tirade

Willy Moon and Natalia Kills. Photo / Getty

Melanie Blatt has defended fellow X Factor judge Natalia Kills after she yelled and swore at shocked young audience members.

Kills turned the air blue with a foul-mouthed rant at filmed auditions in Auckland on Tuesday night.

Some, including children, walked out of the SkyCity auditorium when the English pop star "lost it" following a performance by X Factor NZ hopeful Hamiora Tuari.

Some later took to Twitter to vent their disgust at the "f-bomb" rant.

Kills - also known as "Verbalicious" - is a newcomer to the judging panel, as is her Kiwi chart-topping husband Willy Moon.

Blatt, who found fame with girl group All Saints, said she understood how Kills could lose the plot after a long day in front of the cameras.

"It can be hard. The auditions are such a weird world to step into," Blatt told the Herald on Sunday.

"It takes some time to get used to that environment and headaches can start from early in the morning."

TV3 representatives and Kills later apologised for the incident, which disgusted several parents who had taken their kids along.

Blatt insisted despite the gaffe, the addition of Kills and Moon as judges would prove positive for the popular reality series.

"They are great for the show and have a new perspective on things," she said. "I am really enjoying getting to know them and the different experience it has been since they have joined the panel."

Blatt said she hoped her second stint as a judge on the show would not be her last. She has fallen for New Zealand and plans to split her time between here and Ibiza, Spain, where she shares a home with her teenage daughter Lilyella.

"I love it in New Zealand and I was so exited to come back. I do love my house in Ibiza, so I would be pretty happy to do half the year in both."