MEL B EX BID TO FORCE CHARITY TO DUMP HER
Belafonte says she lied about being victim
MEL B’s ex-husband lobbied her domestic violence charity to dump her as their patron.
Stephen Belafonte, 47, told Women’s Aid his former wife was lying about being a victim.
He said: “I said, ‘Hey, Melanie is clearly telling you lies. Don’t believe me, I have all of the proof from forensic accountants right before we went to court’.”
Belafonte told the Private Talk podcast the charity refused to engage with him.
Mel, 47, became a patron in 2018 after leaving what she described as an abusive relationship, allegations he vehemently denies.
Yesterday, sources close to Women’s Aid said they support and believe survivors of domestic abuse and do not engage with the alleged abusers.
A Women’s Aid spokeswoman said: “If contacted by an alleged perpetrator of domestic abuse, we refer them on to Respect, a national charity which has expertise in working with domestic abuse perpetrators.”
Belafonte also said the fact Mel reached a £2million out-of-court settlement in a defamation case in 2019 with former nanny Lorraine Gilles, who she labelled a “prostitute”, should have precluded her.
Mel also alleged her ex got the nanny pregnant and coerced her into threesomes, something both Belafonte and Gilles denied at the time.
Mel this year got an MBE for her work with the charity.
Speaking in January, the ex-Spice Girl said: “I went through a horrendous abusive marriage which nearly killed me. I got out and ever since I’ve tried to help other women and men who have been through or are going through abuse.”
This month Mel appeared in a Women’s Aid video with Toby Alexander-Smith, the abuser Gray Atkins in EastEnders.