Louis Tomlinson’s fans have sharpened their pitchforks in a misogynistic witch hunt against his girlfriend, Zara McDermott.
Yesterday, pictures emerged of Zara, 29, and Joey Essex, 35, hugging in plain view of a large window after wrapping filming Cooking With The Stars on Saturday night.
The Towie icon appeared to give her a brief peck on the cheek, as she wrapped her arm around him, then left Versa Studios in London and got into her waiting car.
The ‘completely innocent’ interaction sparked outrage and accusations of ‘cheating’ for Zara, who has been dating Louis, 34, since March 2025.
Now, if you search the Love Islander on X, you’re met with a flood of pictures, including one grainy image in which the pair appear to be actually locking lips.
The validity of this image is in question. Metro understands it to be a deepfake attempt made with AI, which has been reported to the police.
Despite this, thousands of parasocial fans are sharing the image to ‘expose’ Zara with a fervour that is blatantly rooted in misogyny.
You’ll notice in the uproar that Joey, who is thought to be dating Lella Soper, has not been vilified as ‘a serial cheater’.
It seems certain subsets of Louis’ fanbase have been waiting for this kind of scandal, clamouring for them to break up.
One so-called supporter branded Zara a ‘racist and a serial cheater’, which garnered hundreds of likes.
The dig harks back to 2018, when Zara – then 21 – sang along to the N-word in a video, which she then deleted and said she was ‘genuinely sorry to have offended anyone’
The same year, she revealed she was pro-Brexit as she didn’t want someone coming to the UK, ‘taking advantage of things like the NHS’, then leaving again.
But Louis’ fans don’t challenge her political points. They just defame her.
Other messages even went as far as to tag the Palaces singer to let him know his ‘girlfriend is a notorious cheater’, saying they ‘knew this would happen’.
‘Zara McDermott getting dragged all over my tl, Sam Thompson this is for you!’ posted one fan with a dancing gif in reference to Zara’s actual romantic scandal.
In 2019, she cheated on her previous partner, Sam Thompson, with a label executive, creating an infamous Made In Chelsea scene featuring her crying and begging for forgiveness.
Sam did forgive her and they stayed together for five years after, but it appers Tomlinson fans won’t let her forget it.
Bullying from disgruntled ‘Louies’ – what his stans call themselves – has plagued Zara throughout their entire relationship, but this outpouring of pure hatred is much more intense.
The unfounded claims, which may amount to defamation, could lose her brand deals and work, plus repeat posters could be accused of harassment.
Not to mention putting a strain on her relationship with Louis.
Unfortunately for the deeply private singer, the responsibility now falls to him to bring his fans in line.
If the former One Direction icon is serious about this relationship, he needs to step in to protect Zara from his own fanbase.
Clearly, ignoring it hasn’t worked and fans who don’t respect her will not listen to any pleas from the TV personality herself.
While Louis and Zara are only a year in, a statement in support of his girlfriend and a dismissal of those who are attacking her is the only right thing to do.
He previously hit out at ‘hurtful’ theories online, coming from inside his own fanbase, but kept the details vague.
Clearly, when pushed far enough, he will speak out. He just needs to go further.
Louis needs to take a page out of Prince Harry’s book (not Styles) and make it clear he will not stand for this kind of attack on his partners.
As the former Royal said: ‘There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people.’
As with all fanbases, there have been those protecting Zara too, with one writing: ‘So you’re a fan of Louis but you mock him over those rumors, according to you Louis and Zara weren’t really together but now you’re CELEBRATING a supposed infidelity from someone you claim to love and be a fan of?’
Another said: ‘What in the parasocial freak fest is going on with people bullying Zara McDermott?! Leave her tf alone!’
They pointed out her work to push for protections around revenge porn, which she herself was a victim of, and male violence against women and girls.
‘Here are a load of people, mostly women, on a witch-hunt,’ they concluded. ‘Pathetic.’
Being a fan of someone does not give you the right to dictate their personal (or professional) lives, and it certainly does not give you the right to harass their partners.
Unfortunately, parasocial Louies are unlikely to stop until their idol tells them to – their misogynistic hatred of Zara runs too deep.
Louis, now is the time to take a stance, even if it means losing a few distateful fans along the way.
Metro has reached out to Louis’ team for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.