Blue’s Lee Ryan found guilty of racially aggravated assault on British Airways cabin crew member
Blue member Lee Ryan has been found guilty of racially aggravated assault on a female cabin crew member on a British Airways flight.
The incident happened during a flight from Glasgow to London in July last year.
Ealing Magistrates’ Court heard the singer was “slurring his words and staggering around” after drinking a whole bottle of port before the flight, reports Sky News.
After boarding the flight, Ryan was refused alcohol and told to sit down, the court heard. He then allegedly told a female cabin crew member “I want your chocolate children” and called her a “chocolate cookie”, before grabbing her wrist.
Giving evidence, the the cabin crew member alleged that Ryan “was making comments about my complexion – ‘You’re my chocolate darling, my chocolate cookie, and I’m going to have your chocolate children.'”
The singer told the court his actions were merely “playful” and denied use of the word ‘chocolate’ was racist.
Giving evidence, another female flight attendant said she had been approached by Ryan shortly after the plane departed, when he had asked to be upgraded from economy to business class, reports BBC News. She told the court his request was refused because the plane was full.
“He told me he had a problem, that he was being harassed by other passengers, that he was famous and asked did I know who he was,” she said.
The flight attendant added: “He was angry, saying he was a gold-card holder and that he needed to be moved because of this.”
Ryan was found guilty of being drunk on an aircraft, racially aggravated common assault by beating, and behaving in an abusive way towards the cabin crew member. He was also found guilty of assaulting a police officer by biting.
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Damian Jones
NME
