‘X Factor’ Winner Dalton Harris Says Relationship With Mentor Donovan Germain Ended After He Came Out As Pansexual

Jamaican singer Dalton Harris says the father-son relationship he once had with his mentor and former manager, acclaimed Reggae/Dancehall music producer, Donovan Germain “pretty much ended” after he came out as pansexual.

Harris, who is the 2018 winner of the United Kingdom reality television music competition, The X Factor, took to Twitter earlier this week, and, in a series of tweets, noted that Germain was the only male figure in his life who had not forsaken him whilst he was growing up.

“I see my father as Donovan Germain. He is the first male figure that never walked out of my life or neglected me. After coming out as pansexual our relationship pretty much ended.  Yet I still feel so fulfilled and happy cuz I feel like a baggage is gone,” the 26-year-old noted.

He later tweeted: “And I knw the ppl I have in my life now are there cuz they love me as a human being not because of who I love or any other social construct that tears people apart and forces us to judge each other. Always choose yourself. It’s so much more rewarding.”

In continuing his musings not too long after, the artiste, who celebrates his birthday on December 29 noted: “I don’t believe in fighting or being aggressive to anyone that doesn’t accept you. But I also don’t believe in chasing anyone for a love that is conditional. Some things are worth fighting for, others aren’t. I am responsible for my quality of life. I accept myself now.”

Germain, who has produced songs for the likes of Marcia Griffiths, Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, and Tenor Saw, mentored Harris after he won Digicel Rising Stars in 2010 at age 16, helping him through school and also serving as his producer and manager.

Harris had walked away with the X Factor UK winner’s title in 2018 following what was described as an impressive and inspiring stint on the hugely popular show.  He also made history as the first foreigner to win the original series, wooing fans and judges with songs such as Prince’s Purple Rain, Listen by Beyonce and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, by Elton John.

In an article, which was published after Harris’ historic X-Factor win in December 2018, the Jamaica Observer newspaper noted that the singer dropped out of Edwin Allen High School in fourth form at the 10th grade, and had “lived alone in a house which was ‘bereft of amenities, such as running water and electricity and was lost to the world’.

Following Germain’s intervention, Harris was accepted into Kingston College in 2011, after his Rising Stars win.  He graduated with six Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, which allowed him to enroll in the school’s sixth form programme, making him the first male amongst his 22 brothers and sisters to reach that far educationally.

Germain, had also described himself as Harris’ mentor, and role model, had oftentimes spoken of how proud he was of Dalton.

“I always watched Rising Stars to see if I can find a youngster whom I can work with. When I looked at him I said, ‘this youth sounds like him have some talent’, so I decided to work with him” he told the Jamaica Observer in 2013.