Katie Price has described herself as ‘overwhelmed’ with support after naming the TV star she claimed raped her.
It was reported earlier this week that the former glamour model had named the star she accused of attacking her 20 years ago.
Audience members at An Evening With Katie Price and Kerry Katona were reportedly left shocked as she named her alleged attacker.
Price previously saidthat she would not name her alleged attacker as of 2009 and 2012 – but reportedly changed her mind last year.
According to The Sun, Price named the star before attendees at the event, evoking a gasp of surprise.
She has now described herself as feeling ‘overwhelmed’ by the messages of support she has since received.
Talking to sister Sophie on her podcast, The Katie Price Show, Price listened as producer Ben read out messages from fans.
‘I’m so overwhelmed and so happy. I love all of those messages,’ Price replied.
‘It is nice, inspiring and encouraging,’ she added.
An unnamed audience member at the event told Metro of the moment Price named her alleged attacker, describing the reaction as ‘silent shock.’
‘My parents were loving, regular parents. I had a loving childhood,’ Price reportedly said, before the conversation took a dark turn.
‘I was raped age seven,’ she began. ‘I was raped again at 12, by a man in the park.’
It was then that she is said to have named her alleged celebrity attacker. ‘Then I was raped at 18 by [redacted]. You all know who he is, don’t you?’
Price previously alleged in a magazine column that she had been ‘raped by a famous celebrity.’
‘I was raped by a celebrity, but no, I’ll never name him, I just don’t want the drama,’ she wrote at the time.
‘I don’t even know if he knows that I’ve spoken about him, I doubt he does.’
Last year, a source told The Sun that Price had been emboldened by the MeToo movement to come forward with their identity.
‘Katie thinks now is the time, she has nothing to lose,’ they said. ‘After all the me-too stuff, she thinks if other people have revealed their sex attackers, why can’t I?’
Last year, the mum-of-five revealed in her memoir This Is Me that she’s been a victim of sexual assault as a child and an adult.
She wrote: ‘I have been a victim of sexual assault on two more occasions. The second was with a celebrity, but, though I want that acknowledged, I’m not going to be naming them here.’
While Katie didn’t elaborate any further on the celebrity in question, she went on to describe her horrific assault as a child in ‘the middle of the day’ while on the way to a park in Hove, East Sussex.
What to do if you’ve been raped
If you have been the victim of rape, either recently or historically, and are looking for help, support is out there.
- If you have recently been raped and you are still at risk, ring 999 and ask for the police. Otherwise, the first step is to go somewhere you are safe.
- If you want to report your rape to the police, ring 999 or the police non-emergency line on 101. An Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) will often be on hand to help you through reporting and even after you have made a statement, you can still decide to withdraw from the criminal justice process at any time.
- If you plan on going to the police, if possible, do not wash your clothes or shower, bathe or brush your teeth. If you do get changed, keep the clothes you were wearing in a plastic bag. These steps will help to preserve any DNA evidence your attacker may have left on your body or clothes.
- If you don’t want to contact the police, Rape Crisis suggest talking to someone you trust about what has happened; or you can ring one of the UK’s many rape and sexual assault helplines.
- Anyone aged 16+ can contact Rape Crisis’s 24/7 Support Line by calling 0808 500 2222 or starting an online chat.
- If you have been injured, you’re best advised to go to your nearest A&E to seek medical treatment. If you are uninjured, you can go to your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). The NHS has information on where to find your nearest centre here.
- If your rape is historic, you can still access support, including from the police – there is no time limit on reporting and your account can still be used as evidence.
Read more here.
Describing him as a man with a ‘bald head with wisps of ginger hair,’ she noted how: ‘he was a complete stranger who was in my life for no more than a few minutes 39 years ago, and yet I can vividly see him like it was yesterday.’
On the impact of the experience, Price wrote: ‘It was from that moment on that I felt men were always looking at me. I suppose having your innocence shattered from a young age does that to you.
‘The police never found the man with the ginger freckles.’
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