The Beckham family feud has gone from being a tabloid topic to a Hollywood scandal.
Brooklyn Beckham released a lengthy statement on his Instagram Stories on Monday morning, accusing his parents David and Victoria of trying to “control the narrative” around his life and “endlessly ruining” his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz. The eldest Beckham has been estranged from his family for almost three years, a harrowing saga of Instagram unfollows and endless media leaks that has overshadowed the public profiles and work of everyone involved since their inception.
“I have been silent for years and have made every effort to keep these matters private,” Beckham wrote. “Unfortunately, my parents and their team continue to appear in front of the press, and I have no choice but to represent my feelings and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been reported. I do not want to reconcile with my family. I am not being controlled. I am standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”
David Beckham’s representatives have not commented. Victoria Beckham’s representative did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for an interview. The family relationships Brooklyn Beckham claimed in a confessional post on social media paint a very uncomfortable portrait of his father and siblings. Victoria Beckham suffered the worst, being accused of a mama-zilla act that immediately begs the question, “When will Ryan Murphy fit in?” in Hollywood these days.
Beckham accused his parents of telling the media “countless lies” about him and his family. He said his relationship with his parents and siblings was “not real” and was fueled by “performative social media posts” and family events.
Beckham also claimed that his parents did everything they could to suppress his relationship with Peltz. He said her mother had “cancelled Nicola’s dress making at the 11th hour” and “tried to bribe” her to take away her rights to her name before they got married.
Beckham said that on his wedding day, his mother hijacked his first dance with Peltz and “did a very inappropriate dance” on top of him.
“Marc Anthony called me on stage. The schedule was to have a wandering dance with my wife, but instead he waited for my mother to dance with me. My mother danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I have never felt so uncomfortable and humiliated in my life.”
He ended his statement by saying that the theory that his wife is in control of his life is “completely backwards,” and instead that his parents are manipulating him. These are the kinds of pearl-clutching details that can derail press tours for ventures like Victoria’s eponymous fashion brand, and they could tarnish Beckham’s complicated legacy, which seemed settled in a family enshrined in a bubble of adoration and protection.
“Neither my wife nor I want a life shaped by images, press and manipulation,” he concluded. “All we want is peace, privacy and happiness for ourselves and our future families.”
