VIDEO: THAT TIME WHEN LOUIS WALSH GROPED MEL B'S BUTT ON LIVE TV
Former Spice Girl, Mel B went viral in 2014 for calling out Louis Walsh for groping her butt on live TV. It was super awkward and enough to make you cringe but good on Mel B for calling him out and embarrassing him then and there.
It appears these days that men think this kind of behaviour is normal but this is slowly changing as the #metoo movement gains momentum. The clip was posted on YouTube back in December 2014 but its shock factor still remains today. It's not even like a playful inappropriate butt grab but Walsh is seen literally trying to slide his hand down and even gave her butt a slap!
The video shows Walsh with fellow judges Mel B, Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole being interviewed by Sarah-Jane Crawford on The Xtra Factor when Walsh grabs her butt. Mel immediately stopped the interview, telling Crawford to “hold on a second” before asking Walsh: “Why are you grabbing my butt?”
“I’m looking after Mel,” Walsh said to the group. AND the worst part is that the interview carried on as if nothing had happened. Noone reprimanded him or gave the situation any attention aside from Crawford jokingly commenting: “Louis! Hands where we can see them please!” The video has recently made the round again but neither Mel nor Walsh has commented on it, however, it reignited rage within Xfactor fans.
“I saw the Mel B video and I’m upset,” wrote one Twitter user. “We have all had strange men touch us without our consent and every time you react they make it seem like you’re overreacting or it wasn't intentional. Man, how TF do you grope my a** by mistake?”
Another fan tweeted: “I’m still baffled that people feel like Mel B didn’t react properly to the obvious sexual harassment she was receiving on TV … she was uncomfortable and made her current state obvious. who the F**K cares if Louis Walsh was put on the spot?! HE UNNECESSARILY GRABBED HER BEHIND!” However, some fans criticised Mel for embarrassing Walsh on live TV.
Walsh publicly announced last month that he would not be returning as a judge on Xfactor after 13 years. "Terrible reaction from Mel B embarrassing the man," one person wrote, while another suggested she could have whispered something to Louis more privately rather than 'insulting him in front of millions of viewers'. Luckily these twisted views are minor amongst overwhelming support for Mel B.
To be fair, she reacted better than we would... but, ya know, slapping people on live TV is frowned upon.