Booze and birds: 'Funtime Frankie' Cocozza parties until 7am with female fans as Ofcom launches inquiry into his behaviour on X Factor
By Sara Nathan
Last updated at 10:19 AM on 8th November 2011
His talent as a chart-topping rock star has yet to be proven.
By contrast, ‘Funtime Frankie’ Cocozza’s talent for attracting controversy appears to be beyond doubt.
ITV chiefs were yesterday landed in trouble by the teenage X Factor contestant after media watchdog Ofcom launched investigations into his wild behaviour.
'Funtime Frankie': x Factor contestant Frankie Cocozza parties at a house in Camden and club Funky Buddha until 7am over the weekend
The 18-year-old has become notorious for boasting of his party lifestyle and his sexual conquests.
On Sunday’s results show, the wannabe looked bleary-eyed as he admitted having managed only half an hour of sleep during a night of excess.
Now, following more than 100 complaints from viewers, Ofcom has launched separate inquiries into the teenager swearing on stage and allegedly glamorising alcohol consumption.
Bring in the girls: The singer arranged for five carloads of girls to follow him back to a house after the club, witnesses said
Inquiry: The 18-year-old, who returned to the party with cases of beer, has been criticised for 'glamorising alcohol'
On Sunday night, a peak of 14.2million viewers saw college drop-out Cocozza survive a double eviction, in which boyband The Risk and Johnny Robinson were given the boot.
Later even he admitted: ‘I literally could not believe it.’
He had been the favourite to leave after a disastrous rendition the previous evening of I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas.
WILD LIFE OF A ROCK STAR WANNABE
Saturday, August 20
Cocozza’s first audition is shown. He brags: ‘I was doing a season in Malia (in Crete). I managed to come home with seven girls tattooed on my bum.’
When judge Tulisa Contostavlos called his bluff, he dropped his trousers to show her the tattoos.
Saturday, October 22
The teenager sticks his middle finger up at the cameras during a video clip aired on the main X Factor show, as footage shows him going to bed at 6am after an alcohol-fuelled night out.
Sunday, October 23
As Sami Brookes and Kitty Brucknell were left in the bottom two, Cocozza jumped around the stage before embracing his mentor, judge Gary Barlow, and yelling: ‘****ing have it, get in there.’
Sunday, November 6
On the Sunday results show, host Dermot O’Leary told viewers that pale-faced Cocozza had managed only half an hour’s sleep after a night of partying in London.
Cocozza’s first audition is shown. He brags: ‘I was doing a season in Malia (in Crete). I managed to come home with seven girls tattooed on my bum.’
When judge Tulisa Contostavlos called his bluff, he dropped his trousers to show her the tattoos.
Saturday, October 22
The teenager sticks his middle finger up at the cameras during a video clip aired on the main X Factor show, as footage shows him going to bed at 6am after an alcohol-fuelled night out.
Sunday, October 23
As Sami Brookes and Kitty Brucknell were left in the bottom two, Cocozza jumped around the stage before embracing his mentor, judge Gary Barlow, and yelling: ‘****ing have it, get in there.’
Sunday, November 6
On the Sunday results show, host Dermot O’Leary told viewers that pale-faced Cocozza had managed only half an hour’s sleep after a night of partying in London.
Following the Saturday show, Cocozza headed from the X Factor studios to an off licence with friends.
He then went to a private party before moving on to the Funky Buddha nightspot in Mayfair, where he met up with a fan before heading home with several girls in tow.
A source said: ‘At one point Frankie was seen at a window in just his boxers. The party went on until 7am – not the best preparation for Sunday’s show.’
Setting a bad example: Ofcom said Frankie's off-screen boozing may have breached the code's rules on glamorising alcohol use
Pre-watershed: Frankie was heard swearing on the show two weeks ago when he was told he was through to another week
Last night Frankie pledged he would continue to defy his critics. ‘I’m not going to go out this week. That’s it,’ he said.
As the Daily Mail has revealed, ITV had already apologised after Cocozza swore on a previous live show.
Yesterday, Ofcom launched three investigations into the X Factor – two relating to the behaviour and portrayal of the teenager and one into the mishandling of an on-air competition.
Rude gesture: Frankie was also seen sticking his finger up at the camera during a recorded segment for the show
The first inquiry is examining the broadcast of swearing before the 9pm watershed. Ofcom received 102 complaints when, on the October 23 show, Cocozza shouted ‘****ing have it, get in there’ after avoiding eviction in the public vote.
A second investigation relates to a clip aired the previous evening showing what contestants had been doing during the week.
Cocozza was seen spending his free time partying in London nightclubs and Ofcom received 28 complaints that it glamorised and encouraged the misuse of alcohol.
Morning after: Frankie was spotted looking tired outside the X Factor house today
Even though ITV apologised, watchdog bosses were said to be taking the swearing extremely seriously as it comes just weeks after it warned broadcasters over programmes aired before 9pm.
Guidelines issued in September followed 4,500 complaints over ‘soft porn’ performances by singers Rihanna and Christina Aguilera in last year’s X Factor final.
The new regulations aim to help broadcasters comply with the Broadcasting Code rules for pre-watershed content, paying particular attention to family viewing programmes, trailers and soaps.
Last night, an Ofcom source said: ‘One of the big issues is the use of the word ****ing before 9pm.
Warned: Frankie, seen here going to a pub near the X Factor contestants' house last week, was advised by Kelly Rowland not to go out
‘There is serious significance here as we only put the new guidelines out recently. ‘The other issues are in terms of the potential glamorisation of the misuse of alcohol.’
Cocozza remains unapologetic about his behaviour and what impact it may have on his performances. A show source told how the singer threw a ‘fit’ on Sunday and threatened to leave if he had ended up in the bottom two.
Crude: On the Xtra Factor last weekend, Frankie felt the need to discuss his recent night out with Geordie Shore's Holly Hagan, and said he had 'banged' her.
Explicit: X Factor came under fire from Ofcom in a report issued in September that said the performance by Christina Aguilera and her backing dancers was 'at the very margin of acceptability'
But the source added: ‘We have talked to Frankie about his behaviour and we are well aware of our young audience. He has to realise that if he is to stay, he will have to raise his game.’
Ofcom is also investigating an on-air competition broadcast on October 22 in which multiple-choice answers were apparently mixed up. It is not the first time an ITV talent show had provoked complaints.
In November 2009, ITV was cleared of breaching rules after more than 400 complaints that ‘vulnerable’ contestants including Susan Boyle appeared upset during live episodes of Britain’s Got Talent.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2058797/X-Factor-2011-Frankie-Cocozza-lands-ITV-trouble-Ofcom-inquiry.html#ixzz1d72QAJ5e
