Mel B’s eldest daughter Phoenix, 23, says her stepdad Stephen Belafonte called her nasty names and she was left feeling ‘petrified and useless’ when he argued with her Spice Girls mum
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Mel B’s daughter Phoenix says her stepdad Stephen Belafonte called her ugly and retarded and claims she was ‘petrified’ when he argued with her mum.
The Spice Girls star was married to the film producer from 2007 to 2017 and has previously spoken out about the physical and emotional abuse she allegedly suffered throughout her relationship with him.
Stephen vehemently denies all claims made by Mel B. His legal team previously called the claims “outrageous and unfounded”.
They said: “When the degree to which Ms Brown has gone to create a false depiction of her marriage to Mr Belafonte is uncovered, real victims and survivors of domestic violence will be understandably offended, angry and upset.”
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Dave Benett/Getty Images)
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Getty Images)
In a new interview, Mel’s 23-year-old daughter Phoenix shared the nasty names he allegedly called her and how she felt when he rowed with her mum while living in their family home.
Mel married Stephen after splitting from daughter Angel’s father, actor Eddie Murphy.
Speaking about how her world went from “technicolour to black and white” when Stephen moved into their LA home, Phoenix told Daily Mail : “I had to stay in my room with the door shut. I wasn’t allowed to go in the fridge but I had 30 minutes to make my packed lunch for school.
“Often in the morning he’d pull it out and eat my sandwiches, laugh at me and tell me to get to school.”
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Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images)
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Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She claimed he also commented on her appearance, too.
“He’d tell me I was ugly and retarded all the time,” Phoenix added. “I had this beautiful Labrador called Lordy who we’d had since I was born. I loved him. He’d laugh at me and tell me I was ugly and retarded.
“Stephen picked him up one day and threw him across the garden into the pool – Lordy was old, he was terrified. I couldn’t speak. A few weeks later I came back from school and Stephen told me he’d had him put down.”
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Phoenix touched on the rows her mum and Stephen allegedly had at home.
She said they would argue in their room, while she would stand outside feeling “petrified and useless”.
Mel and Stephen got divorced in 2017 and spent months locked in a court battle.
They eventually reached a settlement in 2018.
*If you need help, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 – it’s run by charity Refuge and the free number is in operation 24 hours a day.
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