JLS star Oritse Williams called a rape allegation against him “crazy” and said he was left “bewildered” by the claim, a jury heard.

The singer, 32, has denied raping a woman in his hotel room after meeting her after a gig in December 2016.

A trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Williams admits having consensual sex with the alleged victim and said his tour manager, Jamien Nagadhana, was sleeping in the same room when the encounter happened.

Williams, from Croydon, was arrested in December 2016 along with Nagadhana, 32, from Hounslow, who denies a charge of assault by penetration related to the same incident.

Police interviews with the JLS singer were read out in court on the fifth day of his trial.

Responding to the alleged victim’s account, Williams told officers: “C’mon, this is crazy. I am very perplexed, to be honest with you.

“I am feeling bewildered at this whole thing. I do feel taken advantage of. I just feel like a musician, an artist that has been put into a position where they have been taken advantage of.”

Williams said he had found the woman attractive after meeting her and two of her friends at a nightclub.

Describing their encounter, he said: “I thought she was a beautiful person in general – we had a vibe.

“She said [at the hotel] that she didn’t want to leave – she wants to stay with me.”

The singer made the remarks to police after rejecting advice from his solicitor to answer no comment to questions following his arrest.

Nagadhana declined to comment in an interview with police, but instead submitted a prepared statement which alleged he had kissed the woman and touched her but had backed off when he realised she was “getting together” with Williams.

The statement said Nagadhana was asleep in a different bed in the same room when the alleged rape took place.

Prosecutors told the court last week that the three women had felt “a lot more affected by alcohol than they felt was normal” and one had to be put in a taxi home after she “blacked out”.

The alleged rape victim and her other friend then went back to the hotel with Williams and Nagadhana, where she said she was pushed on to the bed after making it clear that she didn’t want to have sex with him.

She told an interviewing police officer: “I was quite scared. I felt more pathetic, if that makes sense. I just felt worthless.”

The woman told jurors she had a “bits and pieces” memory of her night after drinking Malibu, sambuca and shots but said: “The memories I do have, I know took place.”

The trial continues.

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