Spice GIrls' First-Ever Concert Traumatized Mel C: Sporty Spice Reveals Assault She 'Buried'

Spice Girls
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown of The Spice Girls perform during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 12, 2012 in London, England. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Melanie "Mel C" Chisholm, also known as Sporty Spice, disclosed that she was sexually abused the night before her debut performance with the Spice Girls.

The singer claims in her new autobiography, "Who I Am: My Story," that she was assaulted at a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, when she was 23 years old, in 1997.

According to the Daily Mail, Chisholm, now 48, writes in her memoir, "It happened the night before the first-ever Spice Girls live performance."

She revealed that the then very popular girl band were in Istanbul, where they already done two shows and yet they had never performed a full-length concert before. As such, the group was very excited and had spent weeks rehearsing, fitting costumes, and applying makeup.

All was leading me to the culmination of everything she personally ever wanted to do and be.
The event occurred, according to Chisholm, after she opted to indulge in a massage the night before their first performance.

ALSO READ: PnB Rock Courted Own Death? Star Talked About 'Never Been Robbed' Days Before Being Shot

"I was in an environment where you take your clothes off with this professional person," she writes. "It affected me."

The "Wannabe" singer recalls getting up and leaving the massage in an attempt to forget what had just occurred.

Chrisholm alleges she did not discuss the incident for years, instead "burying" the memory of what allegedly occurred.

"What happened to me I kind of buried immediately because there were other things to focus on. I didn't want to make a fuss, but also I didn't have time to deal with it," she recalls in her memoir.

She said she did not address it at the time, but she realized that she buried it for years and years and years.

She claims that the horrible event returned to her in a dream when she began writing her book. She just woke up with this dark event in her mind, making her think if she wants to finally talk about it in her book.

She has to think hard whether she has to reveal this aspect of her life. She ultimately saw the rationale for writing it down and revealing it to the public.

"I just thought, 'I think it's really important for me to say it and to finally deal with it and process it' - and for other people," she said.

She revealed that it could be considered a "mild" assault, but it certainly made a great impact on her.

She added, "I suppose in a version of sexual assault it's 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?'"

Tags
Spice Girls
Join the Discussion
Real Time Analytics