Little Mix hit back at critics after X Factor costume controversy Girl group Little Mix have defended the outfits they wore for their X Factor performance on Sunday night after viewers slammed their revealing clothing choices.

Little Mix performed their new single “Shout Out To My Ex” on the show. IMAGE: WENN

Little Mix, who won the ITV talent show in 2011, gained attention on social media following their live performance. Viewers slated the group on Twitter, branding them ‘slutty’ and ‘[not] appropriate for a family show’.   The girls later stood by their outfits, appearing on ITV’s This Morning on Thursday to promote their new single “Shout Out To My Ex”. Band member Jade, 23, slammed their detractors, declaring: ‘It’s a bit double standards, you always see lads with their tops off and everyone congratulates them and woos them, and we get a bit of thigh out and it’s a bit of an issue!’ She went on to add: ‘‘We were really comfortable in our outfits and we loved what we wore, so that’s all that matters.’ Luckily for Little Mix, many of their supporters also took to Twitter during the performance to defend the girls. Fans called out the ‘slut-shaming’ and commented on the hypocrisy of some of the critics, also noting the ‘double standards’. This new controversy comes just days after ex-Spice Girl Mel C publicly criticised the girls’ new ‘provocative’ image. She told the Sunday People: ‘I loved them from the X Factor… but they are getting more provocative.’

‘They are all gorgeous and great singers but they weren't sexy and it’s got more and more that way. I love them – but I just say, “Stay you”.’

Mel C isn’t a fan of Little Mix’s new image. IMAGE: Splash News

Melanie, 42, went on to explain that her concerns about over-sexualisation in the music industry have led her to limit her young daughter Scarlett’s social media use. She admitted: ‘[Scarlett] is a massive Little Mix fan but I’ve started to be more sparing in what I show her. I don’t let her watch videos by artists that aren’t appropriate for her. That makes me a bit sad.’ ‘All young women want to look sexy and hot so I understand it’s hard. But I think it’s such a shame.’ This isn’t the first time Little Mix have defended themselves from comments such as these. Perrie Edwards stood up for the girls earlier this year, telling The Daily Mirror: ‘We wear what we feel comfortable in… I think we've got the right kind of balance’. ‘Some of us are 24. We aren't going to be able to wear stuff like this for the rest of our life, and parade around in little dresses and stuff, but at the same time, we are just girls.’