Former Fifth Harmony singer Lauren Jauregui has defended Little Mix's choice to go naked in their Strip video, after a journalist called them "cheap" for doing so.
The 22-year-old singer took issue with radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer's criticism of the British girl group - comprised of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall - for shedding their clothes and posing with insults scrawled over their naked bodies in their latest video.
"'Little Mix strip naked and are scrawled with insults.' Yet again, young women pretend that going naked empowers them," Julia tweeted. "It doesn’t. It’s just another cheap way to sell themselves. But I suppose it makes a nice change from this group dressing like hookers."
Hitting back, Lauren retweeted Julia's post and then replied: "If your intention is the empowerment of women, how about you don’t add yourself to the list of misogynists who deem what is appropriate enough to be 'respectable'. All forms deserve respect. They are no less empowered because of their clothing choices. Don’t be salty they look (fire emoji)."
Speaking previously about their inspiration for the Strip video, which they co-directed, Little Mix told fans on Instagram that they're "so incredibly proud" of it, adding: "Strip is a really special song from (album) LM5, it’s all about standing proud and we wrote it to encourage and empower people to be who they are."
It's not the first time Little Mix have courted controversy with what they are wearing. Spice Girls star Mel C even criticised them previously for their revealing ensembles, but the girls hit back and insisted it's their right to wear whatever they want.
"You should be able to be whatever kind of woman you want to be. You should be able to wear what you b**ody want to wear and rock it," Jesy told Attitude magazine. "As long as you feel good about yourself, that's all that matters."
Meanwhile, Lauren is no stranger to grabbing headlines with her outfits, or lack thereof. In her first move after Fifth Harmony announced they were going on hiatus, she posed for a sexy photoshoot for Playboy magazine.
