Mel B calls out Louis Walsh for groping her butt during interview, he laughs it off
An extremely controversial 2014 video of X Factor judge Louis Walsh groping former Spice Girl Mel B's bottom during an interview has resurfaced, creating outrage on social media.
The incident is from a time when Mel B too was a judge on the show, and the interview had other judges -- Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Walsh -- too on it.
In the video, Walsh, who is seated besideMel B, is seen casually reaching out for her bum and cupping it, before giving it a jiggle.
The moment Mel B realises what Walsh is upto, she stops interviewer Sara Jane Crawford mid-sentence to call out Walsh on his demeaning action. The entire judging panel of X Factor was present at the interview, Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, and of course Mel and Louis.
They all sat on a blue couch; Mel B sitting on one end next to Louis. As the video progresses, you see Louis slowly place his hand around Mel. He then slowly cups her butt and begins to pat it. Clearly uncomfortable with Louis' actions, Mel stops Sara saying, “Hold on a second, hold on.” She even has her hand up, signaling the interviewer to stop.
She then addresses Louis directly saying, “Why are you grabbing my butt?” Sarah then adds, “Louis! Hands where we can see them please.” Louis’ response to the question is a light-hearted, “I was looking after Mel,” which he complements with a rather loud laugh. Simon even adds to Mel, “Honestly, you're safe.” Of course, Mel does not think it’s a joke at all and calls Louis “inappropriate,” while sliding further down the sofa away from him.
Fans were truly in disbelief after seeing the video, and made sure to voice their opinions. One Twitter user posted, “This is how prevalent sexual abuse is. louis LITERALLY grops mel b's bum while on LIVE TV!! what happens when he's called out?? they just laugh it off and move straight on !! if this is what happens on LIVE tv, can you imagine what goes on behind closed doors”
Another tweeted, “I saw the Mel B video and I’m upset. 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 want intentional. Man, how TF do you grope my a** by mistake?” Yet another 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!”
Mel replaced Nicole Scherzinger as a judge on the show back in 2014 but was quickly replaced by Rita Ora the following year. Louis, on the other hand, has been on the show since 2004. However, he recently announced that he will not be returning for the upcoming season of X Factor, reported Daily Star.