Melanie C has spoken out about being sexually assaulted before the Spice Girls’ very first live performance.
The 48-year-old singer, AKA Sporty Spice, shared the experience with Elizabeth Day on her podcast How To Fail while promoting her upcoming memoir Who I Am.
She said the incident in Turkey in the late 90s left her feeling “violated, vulnerable and embarrassed”.
Mel recalled: “We were in Istanbul, we did two shows and we had never done a full-length concert before, so obviously we’d rehearsed for weeks ahead.
“Everything was leading towards the pinnacle of everything I had ever wanted to do and ever wanted to be.”
She continued: “What drives me is being on stage, being a performer. So, here we were the eve of the first-ever Spice Girls show, so I treat myself to a massage in the hotel and what happened to me I kind of buried immediately because there was other things to focus on.
“I didn’t want to make a fuss, but also I didn’t have time to deal with it. Because I didn’t deal with it at the time, I realised that I allowed that to be buried for years and years and years.”
The singer said the experience came to her in a dream while she was writing her memoir and she decided to include it.
“I think it’s really important for me to say it and to really deal with it and process it and for other people. Terrible things happen all the time and this situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Melanie shared.
“In a version of sexual assault, it is a mild version but I felt violated, I felt very vulnerable, I felt embarrassed, and then I felt unsure, have I got this right, what’s going on.
“I was in an environment where you take your clothes off with this professional person, so there was so many thoughts and feelings, and I just thought I do want to talk about it because it has affected me.”
The book by the Spice Girls star will follow the journey from her bedroom in north-west England to global recognition with the group.
She is the last member of the group to publish her autobiography.
After coming together through a trade paper advert in 1994, the Spice Girls – Melanie C, Mel B, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell – enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, becoming internationally known for their message of Girl Power.
Melanie C’s book will detail the incredible highs of becoming one of the world’s most recognisable pop stars, including playing at Wembley, conquering the Brit awards and closing the Olympics.
She will also share the lows of struggling with her body image and mental health, and the difficulties of finding her own identity in a world where everyone knows your name.
Help and support:
- Rape Crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence - 0808 802 9999
- Survivors UK offers support for men and boys - 0203 598 3898