Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm has defended Louis Tomlinson after he was involved in an “altercation” with a photographer.
The One Direction singer was arrested over the incident at Los Angeles airport.
The 25-year-old was with his girlfriend Eleanor Calder at the arrivals gate when the confrontation happened.
Records show the photographer made a citizen’s arrest on Louis and that his alleged offence was classed as a misdemeanour.
Mel told Good Morning Britain: “When you’re at the airport you know you’re going to be met by media.
“It actually can be quite traumatic. That sounds a little bit over-dramatic but there are times with Louis and what the boys have been through when they have been at the height of their success and they are constantly pursued.
“And I think you come into an environment like that and it’s quite frenzied and it’s quite chaotic and you have a fight or flight response sometimes.
“I know it’s a very long time since I’ve been in that situation but I had one time many years ago, it was towards the end of my time with the Spice Girls, and I was pursued in a car and I actually ended up hitting another car because you don’t think, you’re not in a sensible frame of mind, you are in that fight or flight response, so I really feel for Louis.”
Steve Aoki, who worked with Tomlinson on the hit Just Hold On, tweeted:
Wish the paparazzi respected personal space
— Just Hold Aoki (@steveaoki) March 4, 2017
U can still do your job without having to put your camera literally in someone's face.
— Just Hold Aoki (@steveaoki) March 4, 2017
Eleanor is thought to have got involved in an argument with onlookers who began filming the row.Video footage shows Louis calling for help as he rushes towards his girlfriend before airport staff intervene.The onlookers involved in the argument have since been threatened online, with one fan tweeting: “If you touch my baby again I’ll come for you & shred you to pieces,” while another said: “You two are so dead once I found you.”
Louis’s lawyer Martin Singer said: “The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with Louis at the airport.“This is not the first or last time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity.“While the altercation was going on with the paparazzi, three other individuals were attacking his girlfriend during this incident and he came to her defence.”Records list the bail amount due as 20,000 US dollars (£16,200), although a source said that as Louis was released under his “own recognisance”, in which an individual pledges in writing to appear in all court proceedings, he did not have to pay it.A court date has been set for March 29 at 8.30am, at LAX Superior Court in south LA.
