Maya Jama thinks she avoided any "inappropriate" behaviour in the entertainment industry because of Stormzy.

Maya Jama

Maya Jama

The 25-year-old model-and-actress - who split from the 'Vossi Bop' hitmaker last year after four years of dating - admitted being in a relationship with the grime star "helped" the situation.

Speaking on Apple Music's 'Agenda with Beats by Dre', she said: "I was in a long term relationship that was public so that helped me out without people being inappropriate.

"But also at the same time I used to 'bro zone' and 'family zone' everybody so hard just so there was no hope of there ever being anything twisted."

Meanwhile, Maya has also hit out at the gender pay gap and revealed she has told her manager to always check how much her male counterparts are paid.

Reflecting on a past role, she explained: "I was doing the same amount of hours, speaking the same amount, if not more, than my co-host and we were doing live TV four days a week.

"I was like, 'Wait, how much do you get paid?' I didn't think that was still happening, naively.

"And then I found out how much he got paid and it was a big difference to what I was getting and there was no proof he was more skilled than me - the only difference was that he was a man and I was a woman.

"Now I will make sure my manager is checking how much he's getting and if we're doing the same, make sure it's equal.

"I'll go out of my way to check those things and I shouldn't have to - they should just be standard."

Maya previously suggested people didn't take her seriously enough because of her high profile relationship with Stormzy.

She said: "I've felt like maybe some people didn't take me seriously, or people downplay my success because of relationships or because of how I look - but I know how much I've worked."


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