Brooklyn Beckham has accused his parents of controlling behaviour in a statement that also claims he does not want to reconcile with his family over a bitter feud.
Beckham, 26, accused his mother and father, Victoria and Sir David, of “controlling” the media narrative and said he was “standing up for himself for the first time in my life”.
He also said Victoria had “humiliated” him by dancing “on” him in front of his guests at his wedding to the actress and heiress Nicola Peltz in 2022. “I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life,” he said.
It emerged last month that Beckham had blocked his entire family on Instagram as a result of a fallout said to have started over Peltz’s wedding dress.
On Christmas Eve, Victoria Beckham shared videos and photos of her and her other children: Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14. Brooklyn, who spent the festive season in Miami with his wife’s family, was not pictured.
On the same day, Beckham posted a picture holding his wife’s hand, describing her as “my everything”. The Beckhams are reported to have not spoken to their eldest son and his wife in 13 months.
“I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private,” Beckham wrote on Instagram on Monday. “Unfortunately my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.”
The Beckham family in 2023. From left: the model Mia Regan, with her partner at the time, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, Sir David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz
KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
The aspiring chef said that for his “entire life” his parents had “controlled narratives in the press about our family”, adding: “The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.
“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own façade. But I believe the truth always comes out.”
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He appeared to confirm that the drama surrounding his marriage to Peltz was the source of the feud. He said Victoria “cancelled” making Peltz’s dress at the “11th hour despite how excited she was to wear her design”.
“Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children,” he said. “They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since.
Victoria, Brooklyn and David Beckham in 2001. Brooklyn is their eldest child
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“During the wedding planning, my mum went so far as to call me ‘evil’ because Nicola and I chose to include my Nanny Sandra, and Nicola’s Naunni at our table, because they both didn’t have their husbands. Both of our parents had their own tables equally adjacent to ours. The night before our wedding, members of my family told me that Nicola was ‘not blood’ and ‘not family’.”
Beckham said he had received “endless attacks” from his parents and from his brothers, who he said “went to attack me on social media”. He said he had been blocked by them last summer.
He added: “My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic song. In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony [the American singer and actor] called me to the stage, where in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife, but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me.”
He said that he and Peltz chose to renew their vows last summer “so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment”.
Beckham and Peltz at the Met Gala in 2023…
CINDY ORD/MG23/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE MET MUSEUM/VOGUE
… and in Los Angeles in 2024. They were notably absent from Victoria Beckham’s Christmas pictures this year
STEFANIE KEENAN/GETTY IMAGES FOR REVOLVE
He said that when they travelled to London for Sir David’s birthday they were “rejected for a week as we waited in our hotel room trying to plan quality time with him. He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner. When he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn’t invited.”
He called the treatment of his wife a “slap in the face”, saying: “Brand Beckham comes first. Family ‘love’ is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.
“We’ve gone out of our way for years to show up and support at every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show ‘our perfect family.’ But the one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused.”
He said the idea Peltz “controls” him was “completely backwards”.
He concluded: “I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared. I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief. My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.”