Ashley Roberts has told critics of the Pussycat Dolls’ sexy image to "f**k off".
The 38-year-old singer has hit out at the double standards that sees stripping show ‘Magic Mike’ celebrated but the ‘React’ singers branded "prostitutes" for their skimpy outfits and raunchy dance routines.
She said: "Someone told me that within the stage of me as a woman that I shouldn’t be sexy and I’m like ‘f**k off’.
"Magic Mike comes on and everyone loves it but women do it and we’re called prostitutes."
And Ashley insisted the group – which also includes Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt and Jessica Sutta – don’t care about their critics as they have "nothing to prove" and just want to have a good time together.
Speaking to accompany a photoshoot with Rankin and social network Vero, she said: "I want to embrace the fact that I’m a woman getting to go back out with my girls as that sometimes doesn’t happen.
"We have nothing to prove we just want to go out there and have some fun again. I want to be sexy when I’m like 90!"
Her bandmate Nicole, 41, hopes the group’s sexy image can inspire other women and encouraged them to join together instead of criticising one another.
She said: "The sexiness comes from a place of confidence. The intention behind everything we do is to inspire other women, but ultimately anyone who resonates with what we do.
"There is something incredibly powerful about owning your space and being unapologetically you. Female empowerment isn’t criticising and tearing each other down, it’s encouraging females to find themselves and own it. It’s about the intention opposed to the attention."
Ashley Roberts defends ‘sexy’ Pussycat Dolls
