ADULTS.

Adults did this. Adults did this to a 13-year-old child born to a crack-addicted mother, on national television.

From Dave Holmes’ X-Factor recap on Vulture:

Rachel hears her name and literally falls to the ground in sobs that put Drew’s to shame. Her mother runs out to embrace her, and Rachel screams: “Mommy, you promised! You promised me!”

It is, no exaggeration, the most excruciating thing I have ever seen on television.

If you haven’t seen this show, and you’re wondering what this moment is like, imagine taking a precocious, impoverished child, dangling $5 million in front of her face, and then yanking it away from her on live television because a Pussycat Doll doesn’t want to damage her brand by making a decision. It’s almost exactly like that.

Steve Jones is clearly getting instructions in his earpiece to ask Rachel what she’s feeling, because he says loudly and clearly right into his microphone: NO.

Somewhere in this sad, sordid, tacky episode is a metaphor for what America has become. I just don’t know what the fuck it is.

The X Factor Recap: Witness the Most Excruciating Moment on Reality TV (Vulture)