The Beckham family, long revered as the British royal family of celebrity, finds itself embroiled in a bitter public dispute that threatens to tarnish their carefully crafted image. The feud, which has been simmering for months, erupted this week when their eldest son, Brooklyn, released an 821-word statement on Instagram, airing a litany of grievances against his parents, David and Victoria Beckham.
In his scathing post, Brooklyn accused his parents of “countless lies” placed in the media “to preserve their own facade,” claiming that his childhood in the public eye had caused him “overwhelming anxiety.” He also alleged that Victoria had pulled out of designing his wife Nicola Peltz’s wedding dress “at the 11th hour” and hijacked the couple’s first dance to “dance very inappropriately on [him].”
While the details of Brooklyn’s claims have been widely debated, the very public nature of the dispute has undoubtedly dealt a blow to the Beckham brand, which has been built on decades of meticulous image management. The power couple, who have amassed a half-billion-pound fortune, have long been praised for their ability to navigate the treacherous waters of celebrity, avoiding many of the pitfalls that have ensnared others.
However, this latest family drama has laid bare the cracks in the Beckham’s carefully curated facade. “The Beckhams are built of sturdy stock,” says Julian Henry, who handled PR for the brand between 2003 and 2019. “They’re well used to self-inflicted drama, to exaggeration and different shades of hysteria.”
Indeed, the Beckhams have weathered storms before, with David’s past falling out with his own father largely remaining out of the public eye. This time, however, the feud has played out in the glare of the media, with both sides engaging in a tit-for-tat battle of claims and denials.
While the older Beckham couple have maintained a public silence on the matter, their PR machine has been working overtime to manage the fallout. “They’re wisely letting the public and the media absorb what their son has said while their representatives quietly go to work placing ‘distraction’ stories to move the drama on to more controllable ground,” Henry explains.
Experts believe that the Beckham brand will ultimately weather this storm, with the damage to their reputation being relatively limited. “From a reputational point of view, the damage is quite limited,” says PR and crisis management expert Lauren Beeching. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t genuine upset behind the scenes, of course there will be.”
However, the same may not be true for Brooklyn, who has been accused of being “ill-advised” in the way he has chosen to air his grievances. By making specific allegations, he has left himself open to fact-checking that could undermine his credibility, potentially causing more lasting damage to his own personal brand.
As the dust settles, the Beckham dynasty continues its march, with David making high-profile appearances at the World Economic Forum and promoting his various commercial partnerships. Victoria, meanwhile, is expected to attend the 50th birthday party of her former Spice Girls bandmate, Emma Bunton, this weekend.
The family drama may have captured the public’s attention, but for the Beckhams, the show must go on. As Henry puts it, “More drama, more moody glares from the family until an eventual kiss and make up, with [the] entire sobbing crew get-together sold to Netflix for big bucks.”
