LITTLE Mix star Jade Thirlwall has said some people think it is acceptable to grab celebrities in public after Maura Higgins was grabbed by a stranger while on a night out.
The Irish Love Island star was walking down the street after the National Television Awards in London when a man grabbed her by the arm.
The moment was captured by photographers, and Maura said his behaviour was “actively predatory.”
She wrote on Instagram: “For people that think this does not happen… I can assure you it does!
“This guy that I have never met in my life grabbed hold of my arm and tried to pull me back towards his car. Luckily I had two girls walk with me to my car and I would never leave a venue alone at night because of this reason.
“It is actively predatory, repeatedly violating women’s personal space and boundaries. His behaviour is completely inappropriate and it’s crucial that we address the issue of street harassment.”
Little Mix singer Jade was speaking to FM104 and said this behaviour has been going on since she and her bandmates started out ten years ago, but that she thought it had gotten better.
She explained that photographers used to be able to take pictures however and wherever they liked.
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Jade said: “We came from the era where it was still legal for paparazzis to open your taxi door and try and get a photo of your dress and up your skirt and that was considered the norm when you first entered the industry.
“Especially us, we were 18, 19 years old and thrown into the spotlight and all of a sudden you go on a night out and photographers would literally try their best to get the worst picture they could of you.”
But she said while that has changed and photographers are a lot nicer now, it doesn’t stop harassment by strangers, as experienced by Maura.
She added: “I definitely think it’s got a bit better and there was some sort of law that was brought in where photographers couldn’t do things like that anymore. But needless to say, I think when you’re famous, I don’t know.
‘PERSONAL SPACE’
“Some people don’t really see you as a human anymore so they think it is acceptable to do things like that, whether it’s grabbing your arm or feeling like they own a part of you or that they’re entitled to be in your personal space because you kind of asked for it.
“I always find that strange to be honest and I still to this day, it’s hard to get used to, I still get a bit of anxiety when I’m in a venue and there’s a bunch of people outside, it’s never going to feel normal.”
Little Mix were formed on the X Factor in 2011, winning that year’s show.
While it has made a career for Jade, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, as well as former bandmate Jesy Nelson, she said she wished she realised how hard it would actually be.
‘I COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT ON MY OWN’
“I think when I first got put in the group, somebody should have said to me ‘prepare yourself because one, you don’t really sleep because you’re working non-stop.
“There’s not really such a thing in the pop industry, you don’t really get definite days off or working hours, it’s just constant. And it’s not like you can unfamous yourself, like that’s not a job, that’s just part of your life moving forward so that was a lot to take on at the beginning.
“And I suppose as a girl-band, I do genuinely think it’s harder than boy bands or male artists. We’re constantly scrutinised for the way we look.
“You’ve got to live on this pedestal of being a role model and everyone’s watching you, your every move so it can feel quite relentless.
“But at the same time I have honestly loved it and I’m so lucky that I’ve had the girls around me when times have been hard to get me through this.
“Because I always think, especially in the beginning, I could not have done it as a solo artist, I’m so grateful I was put in a band.”
