BBC News Brazil
Singer Mel C revealed that she was sexually assaulted the night before the Spice Girls’ first concert in 1997. Speaking to novelist Elizabeth Day’s podcast, the pop star revealed that the attack took place during a massage at a hotel in Turkey.
“I felt violated. I felt very vulnerable. I felt ashamed,” she said. “And then I felt insecure – do I understand correctly? I was in an environment where you take off your clothes in the presence of this professional.”
The singer, whose full name is Melanie Chisholm, said she “buried” the incident “immediately” because she had to focus on the Spice Girls’ concert debut. “I didn’t want to fuss, but I didn’t have time to deal with it either.”
She added that not prosecuting the attack at the time allowed it to be “buried for years and years and years”. It wasn’t until she started writing her memoir, “Who I Am,” that memories began to resurface.
“It came back to me in a dream. I kind of woke up and it was in my mind. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t even think to put that in the book.’
“So, of course, I had to think, ‘Well, do I want to reveal this?’ And I thought, actually, I think it’s really important for me to say that, and to finally deal with it and process it.”
The star described the incident as a “light version” of a sexual assault and said she wanted to share the details because of the impact it had on her. “It affected me. But I ‘buried’ it, and I’m sure… a lot of people do the same.”
In the How To Fail podcast interview, the singer also spoke about the impact of her parents’ divorce and the eating disorder she developed during her Spice Girls period.
“I had this idea that I had to be a pop star,” she said. “I started eliminating food groups (and) being very restrictive with my eating, as well as exercising more and more – to the point where I became extremely obsessive.”
“This went on for years. I lost so much weight that I became anorexic and my periods stopped. I always wanted to be a mother and I couldn’t control this situation that hampered my fertility.” “It was such a compulsion that I couldn’t reverse it.”
However, she said she felt “very proud” to have overcome these situations and given birth to daughter Scarlett in 2009.
Chisholm will publish “Who I Am”, which has the same title as the single he released in 2020, on Friday (16).
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