The Beckham family feud has boiled over from tabloid fascination to a burning Hollywood scandal.
Brooklyn Beckham released a lengthy statement to his Instagram Stories on Monday morning, accusing his parents, David and Victoria, of trying to “control the narratives” around his life and “trying endlessly to ruin” his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz. The eldest Beckham has been estranged from his family for roughly three years, a painful saga with Instagram unfollows and endless press leaks that have overshadowed the public profiles and work of all involved since it began.
“I had been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private,” Beckham wrote. “Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed. I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”
A rep for David Beckham had no comment. Representatives for Victoria Beckham did not immediately respond to a request from Variety. The family dynamic that Brooklyn Beckham alleged in his confessional social media post paints a deeply unflattering portrait of his father and siblings. Victoria Beckham gets the worst of it, accused of momzilla behavior that instantly prompts the question, “Ryan Murphy adaptation, when?” in Hollywood these days.
Beckham accused his parents of putting “countless lies” in the media about him and his family. He described his relationship with his parents and siblings as “inauthentic,” buoyed by “performative social media posts” and family events.
Beckham also claimed his parents tried everything they could to curb his relationship with Peltz. He said his mom “cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour” and “attempted to bribe” him into signing away the rights to his name before he got married.
On his wedding day, Beckham said his mother hijacked his first dance with Peltz and “danced very inappropriately” on him.
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He recalled, “Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where in the schedule was a planned to be my roamntic dance with my wife but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me instead. She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”
He ended his statement by saying the narrative that his wife controls his life is “completely backwards,” and instead, it’s his parents who have been manipulating him. These are the kind of pearl-clutching specifics that can derail press tours for ventures like Victoria’s eponymous fashion brand, as well as tarnish a complicated Beckham legacy that seemingly settled with the family enshrined in a bubble of adoration and protection.
“My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press or manipulation,” he concluded. “All we want is peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.”
From Variety US