Mel B ex husband Stephen Belafonteaccepts the previous The Spice Ladies the singer to courtroom, accusing her of defamation and an try “to trigger him extreme psychological struggling and destroy his status.”
In accordance with courtroom paperwork obtained by ET, which have been filed Wednesday in Florida, Belafonte claims that the previous America has expertise the decide – whose actual title is Melanie Brown – “spent the higher a part of the final decade participating in a deliberate and intensive marketing campaign” to smear him and destroy his life and profession.
“Ms. Brown has stopped at nothing to make false accusations [Belafonte] with crimes and heinous offenses, together with bodily assault, rape, monetary abuse, emotional abuse, intercourse trafficking and unlawful possession of weapons,” the paperwork state.
Mel B married Belafonte in June 2007 filed for divorce in March 2017. As of 2019, Belafonte has main custody of their 12-year-old daughter, Madison.
Mel B can be mum to 2 different kids – daughter Phoenix Brown, 25, who she shares with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar, and daughter Angel, 17, from her temporary relationship with Eddie Murphy.
Belafonte claims Mel B first defamed him with a “home violence hoax in 2017,” however she dismissed the lawsuit earlier than he “had his day in courtroom” to defend himself.
It acquired to her divorce from Belafonte accomplished in late 2017had Mel B issued a brief restraining order towards him on allegations of bodily and sexual abuse that she claims started shortly after they married in 2007. Belafonte denied the allegationsand Mel B declined the request.
Belafonte’s lawsuit additional alleges that Mel B’s alleged “marketing campaign of abuse” continued with the repost her 2018 memoir, Brutally trustworthy.
Belafonte claims the guide, which makes quite a few allegations of abuse towards Belafonte, is an instance of how Mel B allegedly “used her thirty years of fame to assault Mr. Belafonte in a vicious and vindictive world smear.”
“Ms. Brown capitalized on her public lies by portraying Mr. Belafonte as a ‘monster’ on world tv and within the media, in addition to in her paradoxically titled guide,” the filings state. “[Her] the relentless assaults have been designed to offer most publicity to her false narratives and to trigger most harm to Mr. Belafonte’s status and emotional state.”
The lawsuit alleges that Belafonte didn’t sue Mel B earlier “to guard his younger daughter from a protracted and public trial.”
As well as, Belafonte claims that since he received custody of Madison, who lives with him in the USA, Mel B has “barely maintained a relationship” with their daughter. He claims that Mel B has solely visited her as soon as previously 4 years, “though she has flown to the USA quite a few instances for work-related appearances and recordings.”
Belafonte is searching for “at the very least $5 million” in compensatory damages, in addition to punitive and exemplary damages, and is searching for a jury trial.
ET has reached out to Mel B’s representatives for remark.
Again in March, Mel B spoke with BBC concerning the embarrassment she felt after leaving California and touring hundreds of miles to her hometown of Leeds, so she might need moved into her mother’s bungalow after separating from Belafonte.
Mel B has claimed many instances that Belafonte bodily abused her all through their marriage. Nonetheless, going past her earlier statements, Mel B spoke with BBC additionally about what she known as “monetary abuse.”
“Not solely was I emotionally and bodily abused, however I used to be additionally financially abused. I did not understand I did not have as a lot cash as I assumed. So I actually needed to eat humble pie, reside with my mother,” she stated BBC.
Regardless of being on a sold-out tour with the Spice Ladies when she determined to maneuver residence, Mel B stated she needed to be taught to reside “frugally” within the years since their divorce – together with purchasing on a shoestring price range and solely lately was in a position to afford a home.
Divorce paperwork present the singer was ordered to pay Belafonte $350,000 as a part of their settlement and $5,000 a month in youngster assist for his or her daughter.
Belafonte, a movie producer, has repeatedly denied her statements since she first spoke out, calling them “outrageous and unfounded”.
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