Former drugs mule Michaella McCollum has claimed she was once forced to sing in exchange for food while in prison in Peru.
The Co Tyrone woman, who is one half of the Peru Two, was caught trying to smuggle €1.7million of cocaine out of South America.
McCollum was arrested on August 6, 2013 - along with Melissa Reid - at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima and forced to spend over two years in prison on drug smuggling charges.
The mum-of-two has now opened up about a time she had to sing Bruno Mars' 2013 hit The Lazy Song, in order to get fed.
McCollum said: “We were so hungry and I was begging and begging for some food because we drove past a few chicken shops. Chicken shops are massive in Peru.
“We were kind of making chicken sounds because no one could speak any English and that was the only way we could communicate.
"There was a lot of sign language and mimicking things to get our point across.
“The lady in the passenger seat said we’ll get you some food if you sing a song, so I sang a song, in that whole state, to make her happy so she would get us some food.”
McCollum, who boasts over 32,000 followers on Instagram, has said she can't listen to the US popstar's music since.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio One, she said: “I can’t even listen to it since that whole day.
"When we were in the airport, his music was just on repeat so I haven’t been able to listen to it since because it just reminds me of that time.”
She has been promoting her new book You'll Never See Daylight Again, which has been on sale since October 31.
