Mel C 'feels for' Louis Tomlinson over arrest

Mel C sympathises with Louis Tomlinson over his arrest for clashing with a photographer on Friday (03Mar17).

The One Direction star was arrested on Friday night after scuffling with a photographer in the baggage claim area at Los Angeles International Airport. During the altercation, the snapper fell backwards onto the ground and then Louis clashed with girls who had allegedly been attacking his girlfriend Eleanor Calder.

During an appearance on U.K. show Good Morning Britain on Monday (06Mar17), Mel admitted she could relate to the situation because she had similar experiences with the paparazzi during the height of the Spice Girls' fame.

"I think you come into an environment like that and it's quite frenzied and it's quite chaotic and you have a fight or flight response some times," she said. "I had one time many years ago, it was like towards the end of my time with the Spice Girls, and I was pursued in a car and I actually ended up hitting another car because you don't think, you're not in a sensible frame of mind you are in that fight or flight response so I really feel for Louis."

She added that encounters with paparazzi can be "quite traumatic" and imagines that Louis is pursued constantly, like she used to be a "very long time" ago.

Louis, 25, was handcuffed and booked at a nearby Los Angeles Police Department jail on battery charges and was subsequently released on bail. He is due in court on 29 March (17).

His lawyer Martin Singer issued a statement on Saturday insisting his client acted in self-defense.

"The paparazzi provoked and caused the altercation that occurred with Louis," Singer said. "It's not the first time that a paparazzi has created an altercation with a celebrity. While the altercation was going on with the paparazzi, three other individuals were attacking his girlfriend during this incident and he came to her defense."