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One Direction announced they were taking a break in 2015
Louis Tomlinson says he didn’t approve a TV scene which showed Harry Styles performing a sex act on him.
The One Direction singer said no-one contacted him before the scene was shown in the HBO drama Euphoria.
In the show, character Kat Hernandez writes a story about “Larry Stylinson” – the name used in fan fiction imagining a relationship between them.
It featured an animated sequence which showed the singers involved in a sexual act.
Louis was responding to a fan on Twitter who had questioned whether Harry or Louis had approved the scene.
Some fans have called the scene “disrespectful” to the singers and say they should’ve been contacted for their permission.
One wrote on Twitter: “Nobody deserves to be disrespected and sexualised like that. You do so much for your fans and you deserve so much better.”
Another said: “It’s such a shame for a high television like HBO to do that kind of thing and without even asking.”
Lots of online fan fiction has been written which imagines a relationship between Louis and Harry.
US actress and model Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat Hernandez, previously told the Hollywood Reporter the scene in the show had particularly stuck out to her.
She said: “When I first read the script, that was the first thing that popped out to me because I can relate to that as a 22-year-old woman who lived through the One Direction age.
“It’s such a reality for so many people, and so many children and teens that are fans just have this escapist world.
“You completely give yourself to this persona of a person you don’t even know, or five guys, and imagine the way they interact… escaping from your own reality.
“It’s really interesting to me because I was definitely a part of that, where I wanted to escape my own life and focus on others because it was easier and felt more meaningful.”
Is there anything the singers can do legally?
Jonathan Coad, media and reputation lawyer at Keystone Law, said he doesn’t think Louis or Harry would be able to take any legal action against the show.
“There are two theoretical claims – one in privacy and one in defamation.
“As to a privacy claim; since the programme does not actually suggest that there has been any sexual activity between Tomlinson and Styles, then I do not see any privacy breach.
“As to a defamation claim; I assume that there is no actual suggestion of a gay relationship here.
“Even if there was, the mere allegation that there has been would only be defamatory if one of them was known to be in a committed relationship and this allegation amounted to one of unfaithfulness – which I say because an allegation that one is gay has long ceased to be defamatory.”
A representative for HBO has been contacted for comment.
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