The View have refused to be dragged into a controversy over their video in which women appear to be abused or even raped.
A former model who was in the promotional video for their new single How Long has claimed she was duped into appearing and says she was ”horrified” when she saw the video.
Julie Wilkes (45), from Cumbernauld, says she couldn’t believe it when the band were saying it was a video about rape and abuse ”just to sell their single”.
She says she would never have appeared in it if she had known, and says she felt ”conned and exploited”.
The video features Sweet Sixteen star Martin Compston, frontman Kyle Falconer’s flatmate, who struggles with his reaction to both women and men after watching pornographic videos.
Kyle (24) admitted recently that there would be a negative reaction from some quarters.
The band’s management declined to comment, but a source close to the band said Julie Wilkes and all actors involved were fully briefed and prepped on the video, which explained the storyline.
She was also warned in writing to be prepared for some scenes of an adult nature.
The source said: ”Ms Wilkes was on set for the entire two days’ filming, she saw everything that was shot and she was aware of the nature of the video.
”Julie Wilkes, herself, sent an email on Wednesday of this week to the video director stating that she loved the video and that she would love to work with him again in the future.”
The single is released on July 9.