Louis Walsh mistakenly claims Motown legend Berry Gordy is dead on X Factor

X Factor judge Louis Walsh last night told a contestant that her performance was so good that "‘If Berry Gordy were alive, he’d absolutely sign you." Turns out Berry's alive and well.

During last night's Motown-themed live shows, Louis made the flub after praising singer Misha B's rendition of 1964 hit 'Dancing in the Street' by telling the 19-year-old that if the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was alive, he's snap her up right away.

As 82-year-old Gordy is a record producer and founder father of the famed Motown record label, it seemed like excellent praise from Louis - if Gordy was actually dead, that is. However, as you can see below, he's very much alive and kicking.

Here's Gordy in fine form at Las Vegas last night

Gordy's granddaughter, Mahogany, then took to Twitter after Louis' faux pas, tweeting: 'Just so EVERYBODY knows my grandfather Berry Gordy is alive & well. Xfactor needs to get their facts straight before saying lies.'

Mahogany later directly tweeted Louis' fellow X Factor judge Gary Barlow by writing: '@GBarlowOfficial i really don't appreciate your friend Louis Walsh saying my grandfather Berry Gordy isn't alive.. he is alive and well...'

The feisty tweeter, who has over 3,000 followers, reserved her most scathing criticism for Louis with a final tweet on the matter by saying: ''If Berry Gordy were alive, he would sign you to Motown,' Louis Walsh Gordy actually isn't dead. But hopefully your talent judging career is.'