This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby has slammed paparazzi for trying to take upskirt pictures at last night’s BRIT Awards.
Taking to Instagram earlier today (February 22) Holly shared a montage of photos taken by paparazzi of herself, Louise Redknapp, Abby Clancy and Rita Ora.
Each photo was taken at a low angle and are the usual snaps you see plastered all over tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines.
Across the national media today, the photos were used in articles featuring headlines such as ‘Rita Ora at boozy BRIT Awards parties’ and ‘Louise Redknapp spotted on wild night out’.
Claiming the photographers were trying to take pictures up her skirt once again to ensure headlines like these, Holly decided to call them out on Instagram, writing:
At the beginning of the night we held white roses and walked down a red carpet full of the hope and pride that comes with the Time’s Up campaign… at the end of the night, cameras were held low to get a photo up our skirts… times apparently up on Time’s Up.
Just hours before these snaps were taken, the paparazzi were photographing the stars as they held and wore white roses on the BRIT Award’s red carpet in support of the Time’s Up movement for gender equality.
It really isn’t hard to see the irony is it?
The post has only been up for a couple of hours, (at the time of writing) and has already received over 120,000 likes, including many from fellow female celebrities who’ve also gone through a similar experience.
Spice Girl Emma Bunton liked and commented on the photo writing:
Equality and Time’s Up. Love you Holly and my girls.
Television host Angela Scanlon was also left unimpressed by the paparazzi simply writing ‘grim’ followed by an upset emoji.
Fans have filled the comments section with praise applauding Holly as she blasts the paparazzi.
Lea Hellis wrote:
Urgh, how repulsive. Time’s Up hasn’t had its time yet, this just confirms the need for it.
And people like you posting stuff like this is exactly what it needs. Go sister!
Sally Bully also found the paparazzi’s actions disrespectful saying if it was anyone else, they could be prosecuted:
I’m pretty sure anyone doing this to a person in the street, that’s not a celebrity, would be arrested. It’s just disgusting.
Adam Hardcastle called for a boycott of any media outlet which used the photos writing:
Boycott any newspaper or magazine that buys and prints these pictures, actively name and shame them on here and on other public media forums. We stand with you Holly. We will boycott them too.
This comes only days after the government rejected calls from campaigners to make ‘upskirting’ illegal as new figures show perpetrators are getting away with it.
As reported by The Sun, figures revealed by the Press Association under freedom of information laws show only 11 suspects were charged in 78 upskirting incidents reported since 2015.
One of these cases involved a 10-year-old girl!
However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said there are already laws in place to deal with this issue:
Powers already exist to enable prosecutions so there doesn’t need to be [a new law].
It’s up to prosecutors to decide if there’s sufficient evidence for them to move forward, the issue is not with the laws in place.
Victims will still have to pursue voyeurism and indecency claims when it comes to upskirting incidents.
It’s pretty clear this is a big issue for all women – including celebrities – and although the Time’s Up movement is in full swing, the paparazzi don’t seem to be paying attention.
Now more than ever do we need this movement, for all human beings.
