Ariana Grande and Little Mix v Piers Morgan: Does it matter what pop stars wear?

Piers Morgan and Ariana Grande have been having a war of words over Little Mix's latest music video

You wouldn't often expect to see the names Piers Morgan and Ariana Grande in the same sentence.

One's a 53-year-old former newspaper editor, former judge on Britain's Got Talent, and current UK TV presenter.

The other's a 25-year-old US pop music sensation, known for her chart-topping singles, incredible vocal range, and eye-catching costumes.

But the pair have been hitting the headlines together, in a row over what Little Mix, and other female pop stars, choose to wear.

What's going on?

Little Mix's video for their latest single Strip has become a big talking point.

While they are all covered up, the band are not wearing any clothes. Instead, they are shown with nasty things that have been said about them written on their bodies.

The band say the song encourages fans to ignore negative comments on social media.

Ironically though, Piers has taken to social media to criticise Little Mix for dressing inappropriately.

It all kicked off with a debate on his ITV show Good Morning Britain, where Piers said the band dressed like this "for attention".

Little Mix's Jesy Nelson then hit back at the comments on Nick Grimshaw's BBC Radio 1 show.

Piers responded by calling on Little Mix to give a public apology, and tweeting Jesy telling her she looked "ridiculous".

How did Ariana Grande (and her mum) get involved?

Ariana Grande and Little Mix toured together last year, and the band performed at Ariana's One Love Manchester concert.

So she wasn't going to let the comments about her new friends go unchallenged.

And neither was her mum Joan, who tweeted Piers saying "Didn't your mother ever teach you, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it!"

Ariana Grande giving her mum Joan (pictured left) a kiss

Ariana also responded to Piers, saying: "I look forward to the day you realize there are other ways to go about making yourself relevant than to criticize young, beautiful, successful women for everything they do."

Little Mix isn't the only one Piers has taken aim at.

He also targeted US TV host Ellen DeGeneres, calling her out for "drooling" over photos of attractive male celebrities.

As well as presenting her talk show, Ellen was also the voice of Dory in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory

But Ariana had Ellen's back as well, tweeting "Ellen is an incredible & kind human being...we will keep fighting til people understand. i say this w all due respect but thank u, next."

Ellen and Little Mix have both said thanks for the support they've received, with Little Mix saying they'd never stop "using their voice" to "talk and write music about issues that affect so many women around the world".

The band added: "What we do with our bodies is our choice and we felt liberated owning the negative words thrown at us as women".

'Too sexy'

This isn't the first time Little Mix have been criticised for what they've worn.

Last year the band defended the revealing costumes they wear on stage, after they were labelled "too sexy" for some of their young fans.

In an interview Jade Thirlwall said they often choose leotards because they're "comfortable to dance in".

She explained: We're doing an hour and a half set, we're not going to come on to the stage in a tracksuit - it's just not practical.

"I don't think we're sexing ourselves up. We're sweating on stage and we want to wear leotards!"

The girls say they're "tired' of the comments.

'Put it away'

Little Mix are far from the only female artists who have been criticised for wearing revealing costumes and clothing.

Beyonce, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and many others have faced similar claims in the past.

But other artists say they do think many artists show too much skin.

Back in 2013, Katy Perry said sometimes she felt like telling younger artists to "put it away" - although some her outfits have also come in for criticism.

Britney Spears has also spoken out, saying she's felt under pressure to maintain a sexy image and would prefer her videos to be less raunchy.

She said: "sometimes I would like to bring it back to the old days when there was like one outfit through the whole video, and you're dancing the whole video".

Does it matter to you what pop stars wear or are you more interested in the music they're making? Let us know in the comments.