Mel B: ‘I’ll take a drugs test to prove I’m a good mum’
Her former nanny has made some shocking allegations
Mel B has hit back at claims from a former nanny that she was a drug, sex and alcohol addict. Rusty Updegraff, who was a close personal friend of Mel B for years before working as her nanny, made the allegations in a declaration submitted to LA’S Superior Court last week.
The male nanny – who looked after Mel’s two youngest daughters, Angel, 11, and Madison, seven, until a pay dispute – labelled the star the “world’s number one bad mother” and accused her of “using cocaine pretty regularly”. He even claimed that she had asked for the drug just moments after giving birth to Angel.
He also accused the 43 year old of sleeping with multiple men since splitting from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte, listing , “Someone from Soho House we called ‘Smelly Feet’, another named ‘Danny’, another we nicknamed ‘Frenchie’, ‘the Surfer Kid’, another named Taylor, another hairdresser, a singer, a driver and the girls’ piano teacher just to name a few.”
Rusty, 59 – who looked after Angel and Madison as a favour to Mel – also spoke extensively about her alleged alcohol addiction. He claimed that she would sometimes begin drinking at 10am, starting on wine and beer before progressing to spirits until she “completely passes out”.
Rusty’s numerous accusations come as Stephen Belafonte is seeking temporary custody of his daughter Madison, as well as Mel’s daughter Angel. Stephen and Mel settled their divorce battle for a rumoured £6.5million in November 2017, and agreed on joint custody of Madison at the time. But Stephen made his feelings concerning Angel – who is Eddie Murphy’s biological daughter – very clear.
He posted online, “Why any mother would want their daughter, who was raised from infant and loved, to never see her father as a nasty divorce tactic, when my daughter Madison is allowed to, which makes Angel feel like she has been abandoned, is so perplexing. I’m at a loss [for] words.”
Rusty has spoken of his fear for Mel’s children, warning that, “Aside from the obvious alcohol addiction and her addiction to multiple partners that she
brings around the children, I truly believe that Melanie is mentally and/or psychologically unstable. I do not believe the children are safe in her custody without supervision or monitoring.”
But a source close to the America’s Got Talent judge – who also has daughter Phoenix Chi, 19 – said, “Mel is livid about what happened in court. She feels betrayed by Rusty, who was a friend. She’s determined to prove these allegations are false.”
Mel herself has hit back at the claims, saying, “I will prove to them all that I love my children.” She is said to have told friends, “It’s nonsense. It’s a smear campaign. They want to bring me down. I am not an alcoholic and I am not a sex addict.” After the recent hearing, the judge ordered Mel and Madison to see a psychotherapist, and Mel’s lawyer has said that she will undergo drug testing for three months, as well as having a full psychiatric assessment.
Just a few weeks ago, Mel stated that she had been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and would also be checking into a rehab clinic to treat her alcohol issues, but the Leeds-born singer has yet to do so. During her bitter divorce battle with Stephen, she accused him of being emotionally and physically abusive – something he strongly denies.
She said, “The past six months have been incredibly difficult for me. I am being very honest about drinking to numb my pain, but that is just a way a lot of people mask what is really going on. Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel.
“But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol – it is underneath all that. I am fully aware I have been at a crisis point. n
‘Mel’s livid – she feels betrayed by Rusty’