FormerX Factor UKcontestantLucy Spragganis opening up about a traumatizing moment she faced during her time on the show.
In an interview withThe Guardian, Spraggan said the scary encounter occurred the night of fellow contestantRylan Clark’s 25th birthday party, which was held at the London nightclub Mahiki. After the then-20-year-old artist — who said she attended the gathering alongside theX FactorUKcrew — passed out, a production member took her back to her hotel. A hotel porter then offered to help Spraggan get to her room from there, according to the outlet.
Clark checked on Spraggan, now 31, later that night and closed her door thereafter. However, the porter then allegedly used a trackable keycard to reenter her room, where he sexually assault her.
“I woke up the next day with this sense of sheer dread,” she explained to the outlet. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt that level of confusion since. I knew that I’d been raped, but I could not process that. So I put my clothes on and went into autopilot.”
Rylan Clark with Lucy Spraggan at the 2021 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards in London.Kate Green/Getty Images
Kate Green/Getty Images
Despite the action that was taken, Spraggan believed the team behind the talent series was “unprepared” to deal with the issue at hand.
Spraggan initially wanted to disclose the reasoning for her abrupt departure from the series. But independent privacy and criminal lawyers, as well as the police, advised her against doing so due to the implications that could come from waiving her anonymity.
“At first, I said, ‘Just tell them what happened.’ But I realized straight away that it wasn’t going to be so simple,” she said. “I remember various people saying, ‘You have your whole career ahead of you and you can’t retract this.'”
‘X Factor UK’ contestant Lucy Spraggan on the show.Ken McKay/Thames/Shutterstock
Ken McKay/Thames/Shutterstock
Spraggan’s attacker eventually pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sexual assault will be further detailed in Spraggan’s new memoir,Process: Finding My Way Through, out Thursday.
“To our knowledge, the assault was an event without precedent in the UK television industry. Whilst we believed throughout that we were doing our best to support Lucy in the aftermath of the ordeal, as Lucy thinks we could have done more, we must therefore recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are extremely sorry,” it continued. “Since then, we have done our very best to learn lessons from these events and improve our aftercare processes.”
Lucy Spraggan at the Build Series to discuss “Lucky Stars” in June 2019.Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Series creator and Syco Entertainment founderSimon Cowellalso addressed the matter, telling the outlet that what happened to Spraggan was “horrific and heartbreaking.” (The pairhave become closefollowing Spraggan’s attack and she’s now signed to his music publishing company, Syco Music.)
“When I was given the opportunity to speak to Lucy, I was able to personally tell her how sorry I was about everything she has been through,” he said. “Although we met under tragic circumstances, a genuine friendship and a mutual respect has developed between us. Lucy is one of the most authentic, talented, and brave people I have ever met. I have always supported her wish to tell her story as well as her efforts to bring about positive change.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Cowell’s rep for comment.
To this day, Spraggan refers to herself as a “lucky victim,” even to her friends' dismay.
“People don’t understand how lucky you are as a victim of rape to get a conviction. Evidence is a privilege, which is a f—ed-up thing to say,” she told the outlet. “I was lucky because my door was locked. Had I been unconscious in the hallway, it’s not the same story. I’m still a victim, it’s still traumatic, it’s still horrendous. But I’m lucky because Rylan shut that door."'
Spraggan has gone on to find success in music since leaving the show. Her major-label debut album,Join the Club, released in October 2013, reached No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Her seventh studio album,Balance, is slated to arrive next month. She is also embarking ona UK tournext spring.
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Process: Finding My Way Throughis available Thursday everywhere books are sold.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
