Rachel Christie was crowned the first black Miss England only to be stripped of her title for an alleged assault, thus becoming the talk of the nation. Here she sits down with Pride’s Cynthia Lawrence in a bid to put the record straight. Picture by Michele Maestrini
It was supposed to be the greatest moment of her life – a groundbreaking achievement set to make her a positive role model for young black women. When Rachel Christie, 21, was crowned the first black Miss England in July 2009, she dominated the headlines for making history. The fact that she was an exceptional athlete and niece of Olympic sprinter Linford Christie only added to her glittering profile. Then, suddenly, all her hopes and dreams were dashed overnight when she made the news for all the wrong reasons.
Just weeks before she was due to compete in Miss World, Christie was arrested on suspicion of assault after a “violent brawl” at a nightclub with fellow contestant Sara Jones. The two had allegedly come to blows over Christie’s boyfriend (and Jones’s ex), Gladiator David McIntosh (“Tornado”). Forced to relinquish her crown to runner-up Katrina Hodge, she was left to face the backlash after her humiliating fall from grace. “I would never fight over a man – oh, my God! How embarrassing to read that in the papers. I would never do that in my life,” Rachel is quick to clarify. “I am still in court proceedings, but all I can say is, she [Jones] did push it and shouldn’t have done what she did. It was totally unacceptable. To have someone so spiteful do that? But I let it happen to me, like an idiot. I don’t normally regret anything I do, but I totally regret what happened. It was disgusting, and knowing what she set out to do is just so upsetting. But it wasn’t a fight over him.”
We’re sat in a coffee shop in Battersea, chatting over a hot chocolate, and I am surprised to find an extremely shy, courteous and softly spoken girl. Dressed casually in a white fitted jumper and jeans, with hardly any make-up and her hair tied back, Rachel has an unassuming grace. She is naturally pretty but admits that she only entered the beauty pageant to help build her confidence, which she lacked as a timid child. At times, I could barely hear her, asking if she could speak a little louder for my dictaphone to pick up anything audible. She is in stark contrast to the violent, aggressive and uncouth portrayal of the first black Miss England played out in the relentless media circus.
While it is evident that Rachel is genuinely remorseful for the unfortunate incident, she is well aware of the insidious press vilification of the “angry black woman” that somewhat contributed to her downfall. I wonder if the same incident would have been blown to such huge proportions had Miss England been an untroubled young blonde who came from a privileged background. I think not.
“I read the papers, and it was obvious what they set out to do. They said I was in a porn-themed nightclub, and I so wasn’t.” She shakes her head in utter dismay. “I feel that maybe a few people may have been happy about it, thinking, ‘I told you so.’ This is what I felt so deeply embarrassed about. I’d let down so many people, especially the black community, who really supported me. They think it’s just another told-you-so scenario, and I know I’m not like that. It’s just one thing that happened, and now I’m put into a stereotype. I’m not violent or aggressive! It was such a blow. It really knocked me right down, and it was hard to pick myself up from it. I couldn’t do anything after that.”
Even Bonnie Greer, the black playwright and critic, spoke out, appalled by the treatment of Christie. “If she was asked to step down, that’s frankly shocking. Why isn’t anyone calling anyone to account? Why is everyone just accepting this? I find it strange that there hasn’t been more reflection on her resignation.”
Interestingly, while the reports claimed Rachel voluntarily stepped down, this wasn’t entirely the case. Proud of being the first black Miss England she believed she should have had a fair chance to continue and feels tremendously let down by the Miss World organizers. “I wasn’t actually guilty of doing anything wrong. I hadn’t even been to the police station yet, but they had already made their decision based on the press. I wasn’t given the chance. I agreed at the time to step down, but I was in an emotional state and didn’t know what I was saying or agreeing to. I believe that was wrong, as I should have been allowed to sit back and think about it. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re human, and nobody’s perfect. I think Miss World should be more open to things like that.”
However, Rachel is no stranger to dealing with tough challenges. Her childhood was a far cry from the glamorous beauty-queen world. Growing up on a rough estate in the Latimer Road/Ladbroke Grove area of west London, she admits to seeing things that “children shouldn’t be seeing”. When she was eight, her father, Russell, who had been in and out of prison, was involved in a street fight and was stabbed to death. The whole experience was devastating, and Rachel was forced to grow up quickly to help her Irish-Hungarian mother raise her younger siblings. With reports of her dad being a violent criminal, her worst fear was that people would see history repeating itself. “It’s really annoying when you have an interview and they tell you what your dad was like. How could they tell me? They portrayed him as some crackhead running around the streets. They didn’t know him. People would look at me and judge, saying, ‘She’s fighting as well.’ It was really frustrating.”
Despite her personal turmoil, she reveals that her father’s death made her more independent, determined and mentally strong – all the qualities needed to pick herself up from the Miss England debacle and move on. “I was naturally feeling low about myself and had to keep myself busy. All I have to do is move on and forget about it. But it’s hard when everyone keeps talking about it.” She flashes a smile. “At times, it feels like I’m finished, but I am strong.” Now, the heptathlete is concentrating on her training to pursue her ambitions for the 2012 Olympics. Aiming to put the shameful past year behind her, she looks forward to rebuilding her future. Let’s hope that lessons are learned and the New Year will be more promising for the former Miss England.
