Passengers on a plane were left stunned after Blue star Lee Ryan was allegedly assaulted for putting his feet up on a seat. The 40-year-old singer was on a plane at Istanbul airport heading for Georgia when the incident reportedly took place.
A passenger reportedly confronted him after putting his feet on the seat in front of him. The spat escalated until cops took both men to a police station, where Lee - from Kent - gave a statement.
The drama meant Lee missed his connecting flight to the UK and Blue’s headlining gig at Worthing Pride, the Mirror reports.
Blue said in a statement: “On a flight from Georgia to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, Lee was physically assaulted by a male passenger. The rest of the band defended him from the attack, which continued after the plane had landed when the passenger pushed Lee down a flight of stairs, causing injury to his leg. Both parties were spoken to by the police in Turkey and Lee voluntarily gave a victim statement.
“Lee was not at any point arrested, detained or charged with any offence.
“Lee had put his feet on the seat, which was considered culturally insensitive and for which Lee has apologised for any unknowing offence caused.”
A witness to the row said: “It was an unfortunate incident, because Lee did not mean to cause offence. All of the passengers were stunned.”
A year ago, Lee was arrested for a racially aggravated assault on a Black flight attendant during a drunken rant on a British Airways plane.
In January, he was found guilty of being drunk on a plane, assault and abusive behaviour during a BA flight from Glasgow to London last July.
Lee had also admitted biting a police officer who tried to arrest him. But last month, he won his bid to withdraw his guilty plea and may now face a trial.
