Lee Ryan is set to make a court appearance to appeal his conviction after drunkenly assaulting a police officer and hurling racially abusive language at a Black flight attendant.
The Blue singer, 39, was found guilty in January of being drunk on an aircraft and assaulting a police officer by biting him.
During the trial, the court also heard how Ryan told the female cabin crew member: ‘I want your chocolate children,’ and asked to kiss him while drunk on a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London in July 2022.
In court, Ryan stated: ‘I’m not racist’, saying that it was ‘drunk banter’ on the flight and there was no malice or intention to upset anyone.
On Tuesday, the All Rise singer was seen walking into Westminster Magistrates Court wearing a black suit, white shirt and a pair of dark sunglasses. At one point, he smiled at his companions as he took over carrying a bag.
Ryan is currently awaiting sentencing but it’s believed Ryan will be appealing the conviction during the hearing today.
The popstar was arrested in August 2022 following ‘disruptive behaviour’ on the flight. He is said to have denied assault and behaving in an abusive manner but pleaded guilty to being drunk on a plane.
Ryan testified that he was drunk when he referred to a Black flight attendant as ‘chocolate’.
The flight attendant, who has not been named, took to the stand in court and recalled how Ryan began ‘making comments about [her] complexion’.
‘It felt like he was saying I was beautiful for a Black person because of the way he was describing my colour.’
The witness claimed that Ryan said to her: ‘Before I get off this plane I need a kiss from you,’ as he approached her from behind. She claimed that he was ‘towering over’ her as though he was ‘leaning in to give me a kiss’, and while she told him to ‘stay away’, he allegedly grabbed her by her wrists.
She added: ‘To get comments about my colour whether intentional or not, it was just unacceptable and so derogatory. I just felt like it wasn’t fair and I shouldn’t have to put up with it. I don’t go to work to be assaulted or harassed.’
Ryan became tearful when he testified in court and said, referring to his Blue bandmate Simon Webbe: ‘I’m sorry. My band member is Black, I’m not racist, I’ve had Black girlfriends, mixed-race girlfriends. It was banter, just drunk banter I suppose, there was no malice or intention to upset anyone.’
‘I didn’t mean to cause any distress to anyone or be racist, it was just a poor choice of words I suppose,’ he added.
The singer later said: ‘I am sorry that I touched her, but that’s all I did, touch her lightly, by her admission,’ while also insisting that there was ‘no malice’ in his comments when he called the woman a ‘chocolate chip cookie’.
Ryan released a statement addressing the incident after news of his arrest, and opened up about his ‘struggles with alcohol’, explaining that he will ‘often say or do silly things as a result of that, which in turn has caused problems for myself and those around me’.
‘For that I want to apologise to everyone I have upset or offended,’ he said, before going into how he ‘acted inappropriately on a flight to London’.
‘I want to say sorry to the airline staff, everyone on the flight, as well as my band mates, my family and our fans,’ he said.
‘The time has come for me to take ownership of the root cause of these problems and for that reason, I am reducing my schedule for the time being to seek professional help and spend time with my family.’
Ryan added that he was aware of how his behaviour ‘affects others’, stating: ‘By starting this journey of working on my mental health I hope to emerge a better person for it.’
He also thanked those who had sent him messages of support and apologised to ‘everyone that [he had] let down’.
In the months since, Ryan has kept a low profile out of the spotlight but shared a message with fans on social media in February, apologising for missing messages as he had been ‘travelling and living life’.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Source: Read Full Article