CAT HORROR
This Morning’s Dermot O’Leary slams West Ham’s Kurt Zouma cat cruelty video as ‘awful’ saying he can’t bear to watch
THIS Morning host Dermot O'Leary slammed West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma today after he was filmed kicking his pet cat in a sickening video.
Cat-lover Dermot told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield he was unable to watch the disturbing clip, exclusively revealed by The Sun.
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He said: “I didn’t even want to watch it; when you see the headline ‘man kicks cat’ that's all I needed to see.
"I thought if I saw it it’d just end up upsetting me. But it’s awful and stupid and he seems like he is mortified by his actions but it’s a question now as to where this goes.
"West Ham played him which I thought was odd and that sent out mixed messages, especially to the young fans… for me, the most interesting thing from all of this is education and people learning from their mistakes.”
The Hammers star, 27, has faced a huge backlash after his brother posted footage on Snapchat showing him abusing the animal at his £2million mansion.
Fans from both sides had booed while Watford supporters chanted "that's how your cat feels" when the star was fouled on Monday night.
Club sponsor Vitality announced it would suspend its deal with West Ham with "immediate effect".
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The French international player has been fined two weeks' pay - £250,000 - and will not return to the pitch for the game on Sunday.
Both of Zouma's pets have also been seized by the RSPCA.
The charity is conducting an investigation. It has its own powers of prosecution, meaning that Zouma could yet appear in the dock.
An online petition calling for the police to launch a probe as well has netted more than 150,000 signatures so far.
Meanwhile, the crisis is only deepening for Zouma.
He has lost his Adidas footwear sponsorship, and cops in France say he could face four years behind bars.
The defender issued a grovelling apology and said both of his cats are "perfectly fine".
“I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret," he said.
“I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.
“They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.”
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