Leona Lewis attacked!
A man has been charged with punching the singer in the head during a book signing.
A 29-year-old "fan" was charged with assault and sectioned under the mental health act after punching singer Leona Lewis at a book signing in London. Lewis was signing copies of her autobiography, Dreams, when Peter Kowalczyk, who allegedly queued for five hours to see her, struck striking her temple while saying "I love you, Leona!"
"My brother saw the whole incident," one fan at the book store said after the assault. "He (the attacker) walked up there with the book, she signed it and, as she looked up, he just punched her."
There are reports that Lewis' attacker had applied to be a contestant on British reality TV programme X Factor and was jealous that she won the talent show. "He wants to be a singer," his father Tomasz said. "He went along and queued at X Factor. How far he got with it? Nowhere."
After he punched the singer, security guards wrestled him to the ground and Lewis was escorted away in tears.
A little hurt a lot of bruise
Lewis, who didn't require hospitalization, wrote about the bizarre incident on her website. "Yesterday was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset," she wrote. "I'm very sorry to those I wasn't able to meet at the signing."
Following the incident, the singer cancelled an appearance on a BBC program and a trip to Germany. She is currently being cared for by her parents, Maria and Jo, and boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa.
The bookstore where the incident took place, Waterstones, said it takes security at book signings seriously after this incident. "We would like to thank Leona for her professionalism and we are extremely sad that this event was ruined for her, and her fans, many of whom queued from the early hours of the morning to meet her," the firm added.
Kowalczyk has been detained for psychiatric assessment and will appear in court on October 26.
Now it's your turn. Which celeb would you punch if you ever got a clear shot?
- Reuters