Sam Quek blasted for asking tearful Harry Styles for a selfie
Last night, Louis Tomlinson took to the stage to make his debut as a solo artist, just three days after losing his mother, Johannah Deakin to leukaemia.
The 24-year-old star was supported by his One Direction bandmates, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, who dropped everything so that they could be backstage at Wembley Arena with Louis, opting to keep a low-profile so not to detract attention away from their grieving friend.
In fact, the boys kept such a low profile that there is only one piece of evidence that they were even there at all – a photo of Harry Styles alongside Olympic athlete and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here contestant, Sam Quek.
Sam was a guest on X Factor’s sister programme, The Xtra Factor, last night, and appeared to go on a bit of a selfie-hunting spree with all of the celebs in the studio.
Posting a photo with Simon Cowell, Sam admitted that she was “in total fan girl mode”, also freaking out as she shared a pic with judge Nicole Scherzinger.
However, it was her snap with Harry that has sparked backlash, with Sam gushing: “So… no biggy or anything but this just happened…” in the image’s caption.
In the snap, Harry looks understandably tearful, with the star being incredibly close to Louis’ late mother, who passed away on Wednesday.
In fact, Johannah once took to Twitter to refer to Harry as her “adopted son” and he – alongside his fellow One Direction bandmates – also attended her wedding to Dan Deakin.
Which is why fans are absolutely fuming with Sam for asking the emotional star for a selfie, especially considering he wasn’t at the X Factor as a guest but to support Louis and show his respect to the Tomlinson-Deakin family.
Taking to Twitter, they seethed:
@SamanthaQuek @Harry_Styles sorry but he's grieving over the loss of someone really close and you asked for a pic? That's disrespectful.
— kiera (@poIaroidIarry) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek @Harry_Styles this was not necessary at this time, harry is their showing respect and he looks like he is crying
— darling just hold on (@indigomitam) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek he is dealing with a loss of someone so close to him, how could you even think about asking for a photo
— demi☽ (@incredible_ari) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek @Harry_Styles sure you're super proud of taking a photo with this young man who is grieving the loss of someone close to him
— Nasty Sonya ???????? (@Cuppa_Tease) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek @Harry_Styles probably not the best time to have asked for a snap, he looks visibly upset. Bit inappropriate.
— Lauren (@condamns) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek so improper to take/ask for a picture with him in this situation. He is there for Louis & family, nothing else.
— ◟̽◞̽Steffi???? (@slstyles136) December 10, 2016
@SamanthaQuek how completely insensitive of you to ask him for a photo at a time like this.
— lex⚓️ (@ButHisBFIsCuter) December 10, 2016
Sam has not yet responded to the backlash.