Reality TV star Georgia Harrison told MPs how a leaked video of herself having sex with Stephen Bear – filmed without her consent – spread like a “house fire”.
Former Celebrity Big Brother winner Bear left prison in January after serving 10 and a half months of his 21-month sentence for sharing a film of him having sex with Harrison on his OnlyFans website.
Harrison told MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee that the video – recorded without her knowledge – had “gone viral to a point I can’t explain” as it spread across multiple websites and circulated on WhatsApp.
She added: “I was absolutely horrified that an individual would do this to me, but what horrified me most was that these platforms were hosting these videos without consent.
“For many I tried to contact, I received an automated response saying we would get back to you within four to six days.
“When something like this is happening, it really is like a house fire and the quicker you put it out, the quicker you can stop it.
“Unfortunately, within four to six days his house burned down, everyone knows about that video – his family, his workplace, his colleagues, it’s too late.”
Stephen Bear outside court in March. Photo: PA
Discussing his ordeal, Harrison added: “I feel like one of the biggest challenges in general is these big social media companies hosting pornographic images and videos. It’s something that’s not allowed there.
“It shouldn’t be robots that you come into contact with when it comes to such an important situation, it shouldn’t be so difficult to talk to someone.
“I’m not saying delete it, I’m not saying deactivate that person’s account, I’m just saying we can pause it and review it in a few weeks and I think that’s the biggest issue we’re dealing with. the moment.”
Harrison added: “But I think if something gets to the point where you say it’s me in a sexually explicit act and I didn’t give permission, it should be stopped that day, not in four to six days.”
‘I ended up becoming physically ill’
Upon discovering the video was online, she said: “For the first few days, I was really going through waves of complete sadness and shock.
“It got to the point where I was so emotionally affected by what happened to me that I ended up becoming physically ill too, to the point where I was in hospital for five days at Christmas, shortly after the incident, because the stress took such a toll on my body.
“I ended up having a cyst burst and I got an infection and it literally was like my body deteriorated from my emotions.”
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Harrison said the footage should be considered illegal – and admitted it caused him “a lot of fear” about starting a family.
She said: “I know that whenever I’m dating, meeting new people and looking for any kind of new job opportunity, I’m known as the person who has a sex tape that I never filmed and never consented to be released.
“So this has changed a lot for me and it definitely gives me a lot of fear for one day, if I have a family, which is something that was always my intention, will my kids be able to come across this footage? “
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