Fans of One Direction star Louis Tomlinson have recognized for some time that their favorite singer is under attack by some elements of the press. It seems that some media outlets will go to any lengths to attack 24-year-old Tomlinson, and some of the stories about Louis are beyond bizarre. Chief among Tomlinson’s detractors are the U.K. tabloids, who seem to delight in building people like Tomlinson up so that they can drag them down again. Attacks on Tomlinson are nothing new. Some media outlets have been digging for dirt on Tomlinson for some time but have gathered pace since the Sun began an onslaught against Louis last July.
It is probably fair to say that, when it comes to the tabloids, scandal – especially sex scandal – sells newspapers. There seems to be an almost insatiable appetite for celebrity scandal, and to a degree that is understandable, but many will be scratching their heads wondering how the latest stories about Tomlinson ever made it past the editor’s desk.
One Direction star Louis Tomlinson looks so different in his old Bebo pictures – Metro https://t.co/awXZOZJYSU
— One Direction Gossip (@OneDirectionAce) March 18, 2016
It seems that the Mirror have led the way with the latest stories intended to damage Louis’ reputation. They have been digging around in Tomlinson’s old social media accounts and come up with the most banal story that you could ever imagine. It seems that Louis once posted pictures on MySpace that showed him “pretending to punch a doll” and “drinking under age.” Seriously, talk about desperate to create a Tomlinson story out of nothing.
The Daily Mail picks up this earth-shattering Louis story by saying that Louis is holding a can of beer whilst he flips the bird to the photographer with his other hand. Sadly it seems that the Mail do not even know when One Direction were formed and appeared on the X-Factor. They are a year behind the times on Louis and his pals, who appeared on X-Factor in 2010, not 2011 as claimed in the story.
One Direction SHOCK! The pictures new dad Louis Tomlinson did NOT want you to see! https://t.co/DxONPSgYxd #onedirection
— One Direction News (@OneDboys) March 18, 2016
What makes this story so pathetic is the fact that the tabloids make headlines out of Louis “pretending to punch a doll.” Really? So what? What they are really saying is that Tomlinson was goofing around with his pals. It may be a shock to some, but that is pretty normal behavior for teenage boys. Louis would hardly be the first teenager to mess around.
Unreality TV joins in the fun claiming that these are the “shock pictures” that “Louis Tomlinson did not want you to see.” Just think about that for a moment. If Louis was in the least bit bothered about anyone seeing the photos, he would not have posted them on social media in the first place. If Tomlinson thought that the pictures would be in the slightest way embarrassing as his fame grew, then he would have deleted them.
Of course the implication in the story is that Tomlinson was doing something illegal by consuming alcohol under the age of 18. The writers are either deliberately trying to paint Tomlinson in a bad light, or they simply did not bother to do their research. The fact is that, when Louis was drinking, he was not on licensed premises and therefore was doing nothing illegal.
The drinking laws in the U.K. set a limit of over 18 years old for buying or consuming alcohol in licensed premises. Louis is clearly in a private house and is therefore perfectly within the law. As Drink Aware explains, U.K. law does make it illegal to give alcohol to a child under five years old. Tomlinson is clearly not under five in the pictures.
If you trouble yourself with facts what this story boils down to is that Louis Tomlinson once drank a beer and goofed around with his pals. In short Louis did what just about every other teenager on the planet did. For most people, Louis’ actions are simply normal teenage behaviour he did nothing even remotely against the law.
Louis’ fans will see this as just another attempt to damage the reputation of a young man who does not deserve to be attacked in this way. Tomlinson’s fans will also wonder why One Direction’s management and PR teams continue to allow Louis to be attacked in this way without lifting a finger to address the negativity.
[Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP]
