Tulisa should’ve ‘nipped sex tape in the bud’ says PR guru

Max Clifford has remarked that Tulisa Contostavlos should have dealt with speculation over her sex tape “when it all first emerged”.

Contostavlos confirmed yesterday that she was indeed the recorded female performing oral sex on ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards, otherwise known as grime artist MC Ultra, in a video released online earlier this week.

The 68-year-old publicist, who represents the N-Dubz star’s X Factor boss Simon Cowell, told Exclusive TV: “I think that the only criticism I would have is that she should’ve done this when it all first emerged and nipped it in the bud.

“Because it’s really added to the speculation and it’s dragged out something that could’ve been sorted out very quickly and therefore the problem became bigger in time.”

However, defending the 23-year-old, he added: “I don’t think she had any choice really because obviously it’s been denied by her representatives that it was her.

“But it’s obvious from everybody I’ve spoken to that knows her that it was her. So she didn’t have too much choice and the way she’s handled it is to make the best of a bad situation. She was in a relationship, she was in love with the guy.

“She never ever dreamt that this would emerge, it was something private between the two of them. Most people will sympathise with her.”

Clifford added that the sex tape could be “a big plus” for Contostavlos’s popularity, and “a good career move” for other celebrities.