Maura Higgins friend's desperate five-word plea to public after Danny Jones kiss
I'm A Celeb star Maura Higgins has jetted to Los Angeles for a photoshoot as she attempts to move on from a week in which she was hit by a furious backlash for kissing Danny Jones
by Tom Bryant · The MirrorJungle celebrity Maura Higgins' friend has issued a desperate five-word plea to the public following her publicised drunken kiss with married McFly star Danny Jones.
The star has jetted off to Los Angeles for a photoshoot amidst the controversy surrounding her alcohol-fuelled encounter.
Friends of Maura have described the past week as "horrendous", as she's been bombarded with "horrific" online trolling. They added: "People need to calm down."
The close friend said how Maura was in a "bad way....and really struggling." They said: "Maura is a tough character but the reaction to events of the last week has been utterly relentless, and it's fair to say it's taken its toll. She has found all of this very difficult to navigate. She appreciates she's in the public eye and there is extra interest around her, but the abuse is off the charts, and people need to calm down."
Maura was seen looking despondent at Los Angeles International Airport late last week.
The friend added: "She is trying to treat things as business as usual, but it's hard."
The backlash began after a video surfaced showing Danny, 38, and Maura, 34, sharing a brief intoxicated kiss at a BRIT Awards afterparty around 3am. They were later spotted leaving the London event together, all smiles, reports the Mirror.
An onlooker previously revealed: "Danny and Maura seemed to be enjoying their night of partying. They were knocking back wine at the Nobu from 4am and seemed keen to carry on. They weren't seen leaving before 6am."
A source confided in the Mirror last week that Danny's recent actions have been a bitter blow to his wife Georgia, 38, a former Miss England. The insider remarked: "She has been an incredible partner so this feels very unfair."
The couple, who tied the knot in 2014, share a seven year old son. Today she broke her social media silence by posting a pic of him.
A person close to Danny's circle disclosed that the McFly star is locked in crisis talks with his spouse in hopes of salvaging their union. The informant continued: "Maura is getting a lot of the backlash, and Danny seems to be getting away with his actions."
As she departed the country, Maura teased her followers with an airplane window shot on her Instagram story, captioned: "Exciting shoot" along with a plane emoji.
Her path crossed with Danny when they both joined ITV1's ' I'm A Celebrity' in November. Danny once expressed his devotion to Georgia in the 2012 McFly autobiography 'McFly - Unsaid Things... Our Story', stating: "Georgia's amazing for me. The old Danny, the kid in the sweetie shop every time pretty girls were around, is gone. I don't want anybody else but her."