Leona Lewis Assaulted at Book Signing for Autobiography "Dreams"

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Leona Lewis was reportedly assaulted during a book signing at Waterstone's book store in London on Wednesday, October 14, 2009. Lewis, winner of the "The X Factor" in 2006, was at the book store to promote her new autobiography "Dreams." According to reports, a man who was waiting in line approached the table and struck the singer's face. The incident occurred at approximately 4:35 p.m.

According to her spokesperson, Lewis had been signing copies of her new autobiography for about 90 minutes before the man "punched her to the side of the head." The attacker waited in line for his turn and after Lewis signed his book, he struck her without provocation. Witnesses said the man who struck the 24-year-old Lewis was laughing as security officers apprehended him. Police in London said attacker was arrested. TMZ.com later reported that the man who assaulted Lewis was "a 29-year-old man."

Lewis was left with a bruise on the side of her head and she was very upset and "shaken" after the incident. The rest of the book signing event had to be canceled. Lewis' spokesperson then issued an apology to her fans on her behalf. The Mail Online released an image of Lewis leaving the book store, wearing sunglasses and apparently crying. Lewis also had to cancel a scheduled appearance on "The One Show," a BBC program that she was supposed to appear on later that evening.

Lewis, who once worked as a waitress in Pizza Hut, went on to win the "The X Factor" in 2006. She sang at the Beijing Olympics with Jimmy Page in 2008 and even performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration. Her debut album "Spirit," which was released in 2007, sold more that 6.5 million copies. Within the first week of the album's release, over 375,000 copies of "Spirit" were sold, setting the new record for the fastest selling debut album in the U.K.

Lewis signed a contract to publish her autobiography "Dreams" with Hodder & Stoughton in January of 2009. In a statement, Lewis said, "The last two years have been an unbelievable experience for me. So to have it documented in pictures and to be able to tell people in my own words how it feels means a lot to me." The photos in the autobiography were snapped by photographer Dean Freeman. Freeman also photographed David Beckham for his autobiography.

Lewis' latest album, "Echo," will be released on November 17, 2009.