Lady Leshurr charged with assault after early-morning arrest

Lady Leshurr has been charged with assault after an altercation in Walthamstow, north-east London on Saturday.

The rapper, BBC Radio 1Xtra host and 2021 Dancing on Ice contestant, real name Melesha O’Garro, was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after being arrested by police around 5am on Saturday morning. As Sky reports, another woman, 28, was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm; two women, both 27, were taken to hospital after the incident and have since been discharged. Both Lady Leshurr and the 28-year-old are due to appear at Thames magistrates court.

Lady Leshurr first broke out in the mid-2010s with Queen’s Speech, a series of acclaimed YouTube freestyles. Since then, she has collaborated with artists such as Wiley, Little Mix and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am and performed with Nicki Minaj. In 2020, she was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2020 birthday honours.

Outside music, Lady Leshurr has become a minor celebrity, fronting an advertising campaign for skincare brand Olay, appearing on ITV panel show Loose Women and participating in Dancing on Ice, in which she came fourth. Lady Leshurr has been a Saturday afternoon host on BBC Radio 1Xtra since late 2020.

The Guardian has approached Lady Leshurr for comment.