Blue's Lee Ryan guilty of racially aggravated assault on flight attendant

Blue singer Lee Ryan has been found guilty at Ealing Magistrates’ Court of the racially aggravated assault of a female cabin crew member while drunk on a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London on 31 July last year.

Lee Ryan told a black flight attendant “I want your chocolate children” and asked her to kiss him while drunk on a plane, a court heard.

Ryan was found guilty of being drunk on an aircraft, assaulting a police officer by biting him, racially aggravated common assault by beating and behaving in an abusive way towards the cabin crew member.

The singer, 39, had drunk a whole bottle of port before a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London City Airport on 31 July last year and was “slurring his words and staggering around”.

On board the plane, he was refused any further alcohol and told to return to his seat.

The court heard Ryan then made comments about a flight attendant’s looks, calling her a “chocolate cookie” before grabbing her wrists.

The flight attendant, Leah Gordon, told Ealing Magistrates’ Court on Thursday that Ryan initially called her “beautiful” and put his sunglasses on her face.

She said: “He was making comments about my complexion, you’re my chocolate darling, my chocolate cookie, and I’m going to have your chocolate children.”

She added: “It felt like he was saying I was beautiful for a black person because of the way he was describing my colour.”

Ms Gordon said Ryan later approached her from behind, saying: “Before I get off this plane I need a kiss from you.”

After telling him to “stay away”, she said he grabbed both her wrists before passengers intervened.

She told the court: “He was towering over me, like he was leaning in to give me a kiss. He said to me ‘I want your chocolate children.’”

She said the situation had made her feel embarrassed and intimidated.

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, who was tearful in the dock before giving evidence, said he remembered “annoying” a passenger next to him by asking what book he was reading, with no recollection of what occurred after that.

The pop star said he was sorry for the incident but denied that it was racially motivated.

He said: “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 also claimed to have said “chocolate chip cookie”, adding: “They’re white, there was no malice in them (the comments).”

He added: “I am sorry that I touched her, but that’s all I did, touch her lightly, by her admission.”

He told police officers in an interview, read to the court: “I wish I could ring her up and apologise and offer her some Blue tickets for the next tour.”

He also tried to bite one of the police officers after being arrested at the London airport.

Ryan told the court he did not remember that.

Another flight attendant, who also gave evidence in court, said Ryan approached her shortly after the plane departed.

She said: “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.”

Ryan asked to be upgraded from economy to business class but was refused as the plane was full.

The flight attendant said: “He was angry, saying he was a gold card holder and that he needed to be moved because of this.”

She noticed Ryan was “slurring his words and staggering around” and cut him off from ordering alcohol.

Ryan followed her to the back of the plane and asked for another drink but was refused, she said.

He told her “stop being boring, let’s have a drink”, the court heard.

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