David Beckham has been accused of disowning his son Brooklyn and prioritising the family brand ahead of making an attempt at reconciliation by one of his former Manchester United’s teammates.
The eldest son of the former England football captain and his fashion designer wife, Victoria, went nuclear on Monday evening with a series of revelations and claims that his parents have been deliberately attempting to sabotage his own marriage.
In a lengthy Instagram post, aspiring chef and photographer Brooklyn said: ‘My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped.’
He claimed that his mother ‘hijacked’ his first dance with Nicola Peltz and danced ‘inappropriately on me’ in front of their guests, adding that he had never felt more “uncomfortable or humiliated” in his life.
He also alleged that his wife had been ‘disrespected’ by his family and was not invited to his father’s 50th birthday party.
While the world has been left aghast by the latest toxic chapter in this bitter family feud, John O’Kane, who shared a dressing room and digs with Beckham when they were rising through the Old Trafford ranks, was less surprised.
‘I lived with Beckham for few years,’ he wrote on X in response to Brooklyn’s explosive social media outburst.
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‘Let’s just say he likes to be in TOTAL CONTROL and was OBSESSIVE on PERFECTION.
‘If it took Brooklyn to say this and burn down the so-called perfect family.’
O’Kane, who made just two Premier League appearances for United before forging a successful career which took in spells at Everton and Bolton, followed up with another tweet after his previous statement gained significant traction.
He added: ‘This seems to have popped off
‘A few things clear, Becks controlling/ OCD obsessiveness made him the footballer he was imo.
‘But whatever has happened with his son, he felt he had to say something. And I STILL believe you do not disown your own children no matter what!
But that’s just me.’
Beckham, meanwhile, has said parents must let their children ‘make mistakes’ on social media, in the wake of Brooklyn’s outburst.
The 50-year-old did not answer when asked questions about Brooklyn during his public appearance in Davos, Switzerland where he also recorded a podcast with US popular science author Adam Grant at the World Economic Forum.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box amid the family feud, Sir David said: ‘I’ve always spoke about social media and the power of social media for the good and for the bad.
Brooklyn Beckham’s explosive statement in full
‘I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. 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.
‘I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.
‘For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. 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 facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.
‘My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped. My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress. 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. 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.
‘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”. Since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family, I’ve received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders.
‘Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer.
‘My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song. In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony 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 instead.
‘She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone, I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment.
‘My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one. My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable.
‘Despite this, we still travelled to London for my dad’s birthday and 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. It was a slap in the face. Later, when my family travelled to LA, they refused to see me at all.
‘My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. 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 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.
‘The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards, I have been controlled by my parents for most my life. 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 [is] peace, privacy, and happiness for us and our future family.’
‘The bad we’ve talked about with what kids can access these days.
‘It can be dangerous, but what I’ve found personally, especially with my kids as well. Use it for the right reasons.
‘I’ve been able to use my platform and my following for Unicef and it’s been the biggest tool to make people aware of what’s going on around the world for children.
‘I’ve tried to do the same. I’ve tried to do the same with my children to educate them. They make mistakes. Children are allowed to make mistakes. That’s how they learn.
‘So that’s what I try to teach my kids. But you know, you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well.’
