Mel B’s ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte, is suing the Spice Girls singer for defamation due to some details in her memoir Brutally Honest, which was published in 2018.
This was contained in a complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida Court and acquired by USA TODAY.
Belafonte claims that since their 2017 divorce, his ex-wife, Melanie Brown, popularly known as Mel B, has been propagating false information, which has caused him “severe emotional distress and destroying his reputation.”
Remarkably, the singer’s birthday fell on the same day as the court filing – May 29.
Belafonte was “falsely” accused by Brown of “crimes and horrific offenses, including physical beatings, rape, financial abuse, emotional abuse, sex trafficking, and illegal gun possession,” the lawsuit claims.
Related stories
To market and “sell a memoir that is full of blatant lies”, Belafonte continues, the Spice Girls singer “leveraged her celebrity status to portray herself as a domestic abuse victim.”
Brown talks about her 10-year “emotionally abusive marriage” in the expanded version of Brutally Honest which was released on May 5.
According to Mike Paul, a representative for Belafonte, the singer “is a liar and has been lying about him and others for many, many years”.
“These include Scary Spice’s hurtful and damaging lies about the alleged abuse,” the statement reads.
“Women who lie about domestic abuse harm ALL women globally who are victims of domestic abuse,” he continued.
The lawsuit claims that “Mel B has profited from her public lies,” including media appearances under the satirical title; Brutally Honest, which she co-wrote with Louise Gannon and which went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller.
Belafonte, who was granted primary custody of their daughter Madison, said that he was denied access to his house and their daughter due to accusations.
Mel B accused her ex of “rape, illegal gun possession, sex trafficking, production of illegal pornography, domestic battery, and child endangerment.”
He additionally stated that he was “treated like a criminal and subjected to a raid of his home conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and local police.”
The complaint claims that “investigations by these bodies of law enforcement concluded no criminal charges.”
According to Belafonte, he has waited to file a lawsuit up until now “to shield his young daughter from a drawn-out and public litigation.”
Beyond this, Belafonte claims he was abused during the former couple’s marriage because Mel B had a “substance abuse problem which consisted of the abuse of cocaine, alcohol, and prescription drugs, among which are limited to antidepressants and valium, as well as dangerous combinations of the foregoing drugs with alcohol.”
Belafonte is, however, requesting a jury trial, punitive damages, a gag order against Mel B, and at least $5 million in damages.
