Tribute act shares video footage of woman ‘groping’ him on festival stage

ELVIS tribute act Lee Grindey has spoken out after he was apparently groped by a ‘drunk granny’ while he performed on a festival stage.

Dad-of-eight Lee has even shared video footage of the assault on Facebook – in a bid to highlight the fact that sexual assaults on male performers are not acceptable.

The 41-year-old, from Werrington, was being filmed by his wife while working at the festival.

The video appears to show a female reveller touching Lee inappropriately on the crotch.

The footage shows the woman, believed to be in her late 50s, appearing to deliberately back into 41-yearold Lee to fondle his genitals repeatedly, before dancing off and laughing with a pal.

The professional performer said he was left ‘angry and upset’ and claimed if a man had done the same to a female performer, they would be ‘going through the courts.’

However, family members of the woman involved have slammed Lee for sharing the footage – unbelievably claiming he was in the wrong for sharing the video.

Lee has waived his right to anonymity as the victim of a sexual assault and hopes that by sharing the video others will see the behaviour is not appropriate towards male or female performers.

He said: “Elvis would never have accepted that, so I won’t. I’m hoping to raise awareness and show that it’s not only women who are victims of this type of assault.

“It isn’t a bit of fun. If it was the other way round I‘d be going through the courts by now.

“The woman who did it thought it was great. For me, there was just shock.”

Lee has performed his act professionally for three years, travelling around the UK with his wife Katrina, aged 37, who often films him.

Lee, who is father to four and step-father to four other children, said: “This was a festival that I was performing at. I don’t want to name the venue.

“I’m an Elvis tribute artist and have been for three years.

“This isn’t something I’ve come across before. I’ve had people pinching my bum but unfortunately we all get it.

“There were a lot of people dancing and having a good time.

“The woman was dancing in front of the stage, then she made two or three steps backwards and grabbed hold of me. I would say she was drunk. I think she was showing off a little bit.”

After his wife angrily shared the video with friends and family, Lee says he was contacted by the woman’s family suggesting he was in the wrong for posting the video.

However, he has gained support from people urging him to contact the police.

Lee, who has been an Elvis impersonator since the age of 22, said: “I’ve had messages from members of her family telling I’m in the wrong for publishing it on Facebook. They were telling me I‘d done something wrong. I’ve had someone describing her as ‘mum’ contact me. She’s definitely a mum, possibly a grandma.

“I spoke to the owner of the venue and he told me he had to have two men removed for doing a similar thing to a woman. He’s said he’s 100 per cent behind me if I want to take things further.

“The only reason I won’t take action is I don’t want any damage to me as an entertainer.”