Josie: “My violent assault has left me unable to sleep”
Josie Gibson opens up to Closer about how her New Year’s Eve horror has brought back memories of her traumatic past
Shaken Josie Gibson shared a series of posts and videos on social media last week, revealing her shocking injuries after a “horrific” night out in Bristol, which she says ended in her being beaten up by a complete stranger. The former Big Brother star, 32, went to a nightclub in the city to celebrate the New Year and, after chatting to a man outside the venue, she and a friend offered to share their taxi home with him. The star claims he then sexually assaulted her friend and that, when they tried to get him out of the car, he violently attacked them both. Now, Josie tells Closer she’s still traumatised from the brutal attack. “I haven’t slept in two days,” she says, her voice shaking. “It’s been absolutely horrific, we’re so upset. I still can’t believe it actually happened.” Recalling the details of the event, Josie says, “Looking back, we shouldn’t have let him get in our cab, but we’d all had a drink and just didn’t think. “On the journey home, he put his hand up my friend’s skirt – she told him to stop and we asked the taxi to pull over and told him to get out. It was then that he started violently punching my friend. I was shouting at him to stop, then he started punching me in the head, before laying into my friend again. She was absolutely terrified – she only weighs 8st. How can a huge, muscular man do that to a small woman?”
CONSTANT HEADACHE
Josie explains that the taxi driver got out of the car to ring the police. And while the initial attack happened inside the car, she says she was hit when she got out of the taxi to help her friend. She says she eventually managed to get the man away by hitting him with her shoe.
“I’ve felt faint and had a constant headache since it happened. I’ve got a huge black eye, too,” she says. “But my poor friend had it worse, she’s been in hospital and is traumatised.”
After Josie posted pictures of her injuries and details of the ordeal on social media, the former Jump contestant was horrified to receive dozens of abusive messages from trolls.
Josie says, “I’ve had people saying I’ve made it up; that I drew the bruise on my face myself. I’ve been told I’m a crack addict and called every name under the sun. I’ve even had threats made towards me. It’s absolutely sick. Most of these comments have been from other women too, which is so sad. It’s made me wary of leaving the house. But why should I be intimidated and threatened into not standing up and speaking out?”
EXTREME VIOLENCE
And for Josie, who won Big Brother in 2010, the ordeal has brought back traumatic memories of growing up in a violent household.
“My brother’s father was extremely violent towards my mum for years,” she explains.
“I have so many horrible memories of the violence I saw in my own home. He’d beat my mum regularly, I’d even have to call ambulances for her when it was particularly bad. He wasn’t violent towards us, but we’d sometimes be locked in our rooms. And this happening just brings back memories of all that abuse.”
But Josie says that, while she’s still shaken and upset, she also feels angry. And that’s made her determined to speak up about what happened.
“This has made me and my friends not want to go out to clubs,” she says. “Nobody should go on a night out and feel fearful that something bad will happen to them. “But what I went through as a child made me strong and I’m not going to sit back and let people get away with violent behaviour. We victims need to speak out and stand up for ourselves, violence is not acceptable and I won’t let them win.”
At the time Closer went to press, Avon and Somerset police commented, “We can confirm we are investigating allegations of an assault by a man on a woman shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day. Anyone able to help is asked to call us on 101, quoting reference 5218000654.”
❛HE STARTED PUNCHING ME IN THE HEAD BEFORE LAYING INTO MY FRIEND AGAIN❜