Melanie C says she was sexually assaulted before first ever Spice Girls show

"I think it’s really important to me to say it and to finally deal with it and process it"

Melanie Chisholm has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a masseur the night before the Spice Girls’ debut live performance.

Speaking on the How To Fail podcast to promote her new memoir Who I Am, the singer – best known known as Mel C or Sporty Spice during her time with the 90s girl group – says the incident took place at a hotel in Istanbul (per The Guardian).

“What happened to me, I kind of buried immediately, because there was other things to focus on,” she said, explaining that she had tried to put the event behind her while she focused on preparations for the show. “Everything was leading towards the pinnacle of everything I’d ever wanted to do.”

“I didn’t want to make a fuss, but also I didn’t have time to deal with it,” she said, adding that she decided to write about what happened in her memoir after recalling what she called a relatively “mild” assault in a dream. “I think it’s really important to me to say it and to finally deal with it and process it.”

Melanie C announces 2021 European headline tour
Melanie C. CREDIT: Supplied

“Terrible things happen all the time, and this situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Chisholm told Day, noting that being in “an environment where you take your clothes off with this professional person” added to her later confusion around the event. “I felt very vulnerable, I felt embarrassed.”

The singer previously spoke about her depression and eating disorder in 2020, and touched on the subject again last week (September 8) while discussing the new autobiography.

“I started with the elimination of food groups. Back then, fat was the enemy. And then of course, the fear of carbs came in. I got to the point where, for a couple of years, I was predominantly eating fruit and vegetables and that was it,” she told MailOnline.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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