Lady Leshurr says court case has 'ruined career' despite not guilty verdict

Rapper Lady Leshurr has said her career has been “ruined”, despite being found not guilty of attacking her ex-girlfriend's partner. The 35-year-old performer, whose real name is Melesha O’Garro, told how she was left without income for a whole year as she went through the legal process.

Ms O’Garro was accused of assaulting Chante Boyea – who at the time was dating her ex-girlfriend Sidnee Hussein – just after 5am on October 22 2022.

She was alleged to have bitten her hand so badly that she suffered “nerve damage”.

However, yesterday a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London found her not guilty on two counts of occasioning actual bodily harm.

In a video on Instagram after the verdict, the musician said the court case has been “one of the worst experiences of my life”. She added in the accompanying caption: “For the past year I’ve been battling a court case from people that accused me of stalking, harassing and biting them but I was the victim. I was attacked and bitten by a dog and made out to be the aggressor.

"For a whole year people have deserted me, dropped me from deals, and didn’t want to work with me any more. For a whole year I have had no income.”

She added: “My brand/career has been ruined regardless no matter the outcome, but at least I have a clean record and can FINALLY get on with my life.”

Earlier in the trial, the former Dancing On Ice contestant said Ms Boyea, a security officer, attacked her first and used her Belgian Malinois dog Toby as a “weapon” during the incident in Walthamstow, north-east London – a claim she strongly denied. Ms O’Garro’s co-defendant, Sherelle Smith, was also found not guilty on one count of the same charge.

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