logo HWI overlay
 
homepagebiographiesHAyley's Concert Appearancesconcerts scheduleaudio multimediagalleriesnews
albumsmedia scansRadio HWIradio & tvreviewsVideo Player 2006wallpapers

Stalked singer hires bodyguard
.
By JANINE BENNETTS and NZPA
Hayley
SONGBIRD:
Christchurch soprano Hayley Westenra
has help to fend off unpleasant fans.
Rex Features
Christchurch soprano Hayley Westenra has been forced to hire a bodyguard after being stalked by three male fans, one of whom tried to grab her at a recent concert in Berlin.

"This has really unnerved me, it's put me on edge," the 19-year-old singer reportedly told British newspaper the Sunday Express.

"I've spent my whole life on stage and I feel safe up there – it's the one place that is really my space."

Westenra is touring through Europe with Opera boy band Il Divo.

The singer's mother, Jill Westenra, said yesterday that Hayley had had stalking incidents involving three different men over the past few months and after the most recent scare in Berlin, a bodyguard had been hired.

She said one of the first stalking incidents was in April last year when a German male fan got into Hayley's 18th birthday bash on a forged invitation before being escorted out by guards.

The same man had also posted her daughter sexually inappropriate mail – some of which he had sent to her home in Christchurch.

"He's known to the management and at the ticket sales so when they see his name they know if he's going to be there and at that point security gets stepped up," Jill Westenra said.

Another stalker had turned up at a concert rehearsal in the United Kingdom in November last year while Hayley and Jill Westenra were backstage. The man approached crew members and started to chant.

Jill Westenra said police were called and the man was eventually put into a police cell for the night and then deported.

"Hayley did feel a little bit sorry for him because he missed the concert," Jill Westenra said.

"Some people just don't seem to know what the appropriate behaviour is."

Most recently, a third male stalker tried to grab the singer after a concert in Berlin two weeks ago, but security pulled him away.

Jill Westenra said the new bodyguard had experience in the business, including having worked for Victoria and David Beckham, and was a black belt in tae kwon do.

She said she was confident Hayley was safe.

"I kind of feel that she's well looked after."

Top Of Page
~ Hayley Westenra's own little shop-on-the-web ~ HWI supports

HW ShopUNICEFbikes for GhanaUNICEF

An Independent Online Store UNICEF NZ
 
CLICK FOR HOMEPAGE