Bless Tulisa. Bless her ridiculous arm tattoo and her sometimes clumsy phrasing as a judge on The X-Factor. On Thursday morning, the pop star and reality TV judge scored a victory at the high court after extracting an apology from her ex-boyfriend, MC Ultra (Justin Edwards to his mum).
His crime? Putting out a short video – without her consent – in which the two engage in sex. On the steps outside the court, she smiled winningly and said: "Justin Edwards' actions were to spite me, make money and ruin my career. He has succeeded in none of these things. I stand here today a stronger, wiser young woman."
In a world where 'leaked' celebrity sex tapes and naked photographs have become the norm – thanks for ushering in a golden age, Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson – the public's response is often a cynical sigh and the thought, "Oh, she was probably making some money off it". The famous female in the tape or nude pictures then expresses remorse and shame, a tearful apology to the fans ("Your trust means everything and I have let you down") and perhaps a contrite and humble interview with a lady magazine.
So it was great to see Tulisa on YouTube within days of the tape's release, in a five-minute clip, admitting the film was of her and her ex-boyfriend – and then calling him out for his betrayal of her trust. And – crucially – insisting she had done nothing to be ashamed of. "I've done nothing wrong whatsoever. As you can imagine, I'm devastated, heartbroken, I loved him deeply, had a lot of respect for him. I never expected a scenario like this," she said. "But I don't feel that I should be the one take the heat for it. This is something that he took upon himself to put online." She added: "I'm not going to sit here and be violated or taken advantage of by anyone."
The subtext was clear: she was not apologising for the existence of the sex tape, merely stating that her partner had let her down by sharing it. Marvellous stuff. And somewhere between the tape being released and her triumphant court date, Tulisa even managed to get an audience at a festival to "put your middle fingers up to my dickhead ex, Justin fucking Edwards." The whole episode's enough to make anyone a fan.
As Contostavlos said on Thursday, "This time, Justin messed with the wrong woman."
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