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Artist News Legal
Final arguments presented in Tulisa blogger assault trial
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 3 July 2014
Tulisa Contostavlos will now have to wait until 25 Jul to find out the verdict in her trial over allegations she assaulted a man at last year’s V Festival. Meanwhile the final day of arguments in the case at Chelmsford Magistrates Court were nearly scuppered when a key witness failed to show up.
As previously reported, celebrity blogger Vas J Morgan claims that the singer attacked him while in a “drunken and angry state” as he was leaving the festival last summer. Her assistant, Gareth Varey, is also on trial, accused of using threatening behaviour.
Contostavlos says that Morgan has led a “vendetta” against her ever since an incident in which she asked for him to be removed from the VIP area of a London club. She also said that she suspects him of being involved in the leaking of her sex tape.
Morgan claims that Contostavlos punched him in the eye, causing it to swell up. However, the evidence for this centres on a photograph said to have been taken by singer Royston Legore but later deleted.
Other witnesses to the alleged attack were Misha B, Mutya Buena, Alexandra Burke and Wretch 32, none of whom were called to give evidence.
Tulisa’s legal team, as well as her manager Jonathan Shalit, argued in court that Legore’s alleged photograph never actually existed. Morgan counters that Legore deleted the picture because he was scared that coming forward with it might have a negative impact on his own music career.
Legore himself was unable to shed any light on the matter, because he missed a flight from Italy. Keen to wrap up the trial, after initially putting proceedings on hold judge Angus Hamilton decided to continue on without Legore’s testimony, describing the situation as “very frustrating”. Closing arguments having now been delivered, Hamilton will announce his judgement on 25 Jul.
Tulisa’s former N-Dubz bandmate Dappy also recently appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on assault charges. He was found guilty of slapping a man outside a nightclub in the city.
