Many people are outraged after a video of Harry Styles getting groped by a fan made the rounds on Twitter.
The incident occurred during Styles' performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night as part of the fifth annual "We Can Survive" concert to benefit breast cancer.
One Twitter user shared the upsetting video, saying: "Harry was touched inappropriately during kiwi, absolutely disgusting."
Harry was touched inappropriately during kiwi, absolutely disgusting. #WeCanSurvive https://t.co/kdo6nv1i2m— Ana (@Ana) 1508657684.0
As you can see in the video, several fans reach out to touch Styles as he makes his way to the front of the stage, and one fan grabs his crotch, prompting Styles to brush the hand off and quickly back away.
Another fan shared their recollection of what went down:
And you all have the decency to hate on him? Treat people with kindness ‘Directioners’ #RespectHarry https://t.co/Dsp730tp2U— Salma ◟̽◞̽ (@Salma ◟̽◞̽) 1508678374.0
The incident caused many on Twitter to tweet out in support of Harry using #RespectHarry, urging his fans not to treat him like a piece of meat.
I wish people could treat Harry the way he treats people, absolutely disgusted 💔 #RespectHarry— Nialler Diaries. (@Nialler Diaries.) 1508668600.0
Harry spreads love,respect and kindness,but he's getting harassed on his own shows. That's disgusting. #RespectHarry— Kristýna Spurná (@Kristýna Spurná) 1508681288.0
It’s disgusting & disrespectful if you touch Harry, especially near crotch or thighs, without his consent ✋🏻LEARN YOUR LIMITS✋🏻#RespectHarry— Harry Styles 🌎 (@Harry Styles 🌎) 1508661688.0
After all, celebrities are people too.
Harry getting down on his knees isn't an open invitation for you to touch him inappropriately, he's not a fucking object. #RespectHarry— Harry Updates. (@Harry Updates.) 1508660961.0
Our fandom has A LOT of growing up to do. What happened tonight was COMPLETELY out of line. Do better. He's a human being. #RespectHarry— Harry's Promo Team (@Harry's Promo Team) 1508661774.0
The incident also has many people reflecting on the conversation that the nation had recently regarding sexual harassment and consent in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has rocked the nation, along with harassment allegations that have plagued various places of business, such as Fox News and Uber.
After several celebrities came forward to share their stories, actress Alyssa Milano spread the hashtag #MeToo, which encouraged women to open up about their experiences with sexual harassment, assault, and rape in order to show just how widespread the problem truly is.
Many men got in on the movement as well, sharing that sexual harassment is something that can affect anyone.
The Harry Styles case is a perfect example.
the worst part is that the girl's probably like "lmaoo i just touched harry styles' crotch 🤑👌🏼💯🤠" like bitch that's sexual assault— ㅤً (@ㅤً) 1508655774.0
the fact that someone groped harry styles’ crotch is actually fucking sexual assault, i don’t care how big of a stan u are, it’s so wrong— Adam Ray (@Adam Ray) 1508668540.0
if you think it's okay bc they're an artist/celeb, then an exceptional capital fuck you to you. they don't owe you anything, esp. sexually— Savannah Seymour (@Savannah Seymour) 1508658265.0
in short: respect everyone and stop objectifying/dehumanizing artists and celebs, it truly is that simple #RespectHarry— Savannah Seymour (@Savannah Seymour) 1508658648.0
Harry Styles has yet to publicly comment about the incident, but hopefully it will continue to keep people thinking about how they view and treat people, including celebrities. In the meantime, there is no shortage of outrage from Twitter.
This is sexual assault and yet there’s women on twitter saying ‘lucky girl’ it’s not fair to make it one sided! https://t.co/CvsGWEQpcv— Holly Sturgeon (@Holly Sturgeon) 1508714598.0
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H/T: Twitter, Huffington Post