Blue’s Lee Ryan tearfully tells court ‘I’m not racist’ as he recalls drinking bottle of port and calling Black flight attendant ‘chocolate chip cookie’ in assault trial-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro

Lee Ryan will face trial at Ealing Magistrates Court in London (Picture: PA)

Blue singer Lee Ryan testified at his magistrates trial that he was drunk when he referred to a Black flight attendant as ‘chocolate’ before his arrest last summer.  

In August, it was reported that the 39-year-old popstar had become disruptive on a flight from Glasgow to London when he wasn’t served alcohol. Staff are said to have radioed down and the singer was arrested when the plane touched down at London City Airport. 

He was later charged with abusing and assaulting a member of the crew onboard a British Airways flight and assaulting a police officer. 

On Thursday, Ryan was pictured arriving at Ealing Magistrates’ Court for the start of the trial. 

According to The Sun, he previously denied assault by beating, assaulting a police officer and behaving in an abusive way towards a cabin crew member, but  previously pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft. 

He is also charged with racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment.

Ryan, 39, kept his head down as he walked into the court building (Picture: PA)

The Blue star is charged with abusing and assaulting a member of the crew onboard a British Airways flight and assaulting a police office (Picture: PA)

Ryan reportedly denied the charges of assault (Picture: PA)

Ryan was arrested after his flight landed in London last summer (Picture: PA)

In court on Thursday, Ryan reportedly said that he drank a whole bottle of port and ate cheese in the BA lounge after the flight was delayed.

Sharing her version of events, the flight attendant – who has not been named – told the court: ‘He was making comments about my complexion, “you’re my chocolate darling, my chocolate cookie”, and “I’m going to have your chocolate children”.

‘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 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 said: ‘He was towering over me, like he was leaning in to give me a kiss.’

The woman added: ‘I was intimidated, I felt a bit embarrassed like I wasn’t doing my duty properly.

‘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 said he ‘acted inappropriately’ on the flight (Picture: Getty Images)

Taking the stand, Ryan became tearful and told the court: ‘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.’

He continued: ‘I didn’t mean to cause any distress to anyone or be racist, it was just a poor choice of words I suppose.’

‘I am sorry that I touched her, but that’s all I did, touch her lightly, by her admission,’ he later said.

Ryan also said he called the woman a ‘chocolate chip cookie’, adding: ‘They’re white, there was no malice in them (the comments).’

Part of Ryan’s interview with police officers was read out in court, in which he reportedly said: ‘I wish I could ring her up and apologise and offer her some Blue tickets for the next tour.’

When they claimed he tried to bite one of the officers after being arrested at the London airport, he replied: ‘I don’t remember that.’

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

Ryan referred to his Blue bandmate Simon Webbe when insisting: ‘I’m not racist’ (Picture: Getty Images)

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.’

The flight attendant also claimed Ryan asked to be upgraded from economy to business class but was refused as the plane was full. She added that the popstar Ryan was ‘slurring his words and staggering around’ and allegedly cut him off from ordering alcohol.

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

After news of his arrest, Ryan released a statement apologising for the incident. 

In the message shared on social media, the singer explained: ‘Over the last few days, I have had a lot of time to think about my behaviour and how it affects people around me.

‘As it has been well documented, I have always had my struggles with alcohol and 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.’

The All Rise singer added: ‘Last week, I acted inappropriately on a flight to London and I want to say sorry to the airline staff, everyone on the flight, as well as my band mates, my family and our fans.

‘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.

‘I am aware of how my behaviour affects others and by starting this journey of working on my mental health I hope to emerge a better person for it.’

Ryan thanked those who had sent him messages of support and apologised to ‘everyone that [he has] let down’.

A Met Police spokesperson confirmed Ryan’s arrest at the time and told Metro.co.uk: ‘At around 1640hrs on Sunday July 31, officers met a flight that had arrived at London City Airport from Glasgow.

‘A 39-year-old man was arrested for a public order offence. He was taken into custody at an East London police station and was released under investigation the following day.’

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