A former Manchester United player who says he "lived with David Beckham for a few years" has reacted to Brooklyn Peltz Beckham's lengthy statement on his strained relationship with his parents.
On Monday evening, the eldest son of David and Victoria announced via Instagram that he does not want to "reconcile" with his family and is “standing up” for himself “for the first time” in his life.
Brooklyn, who said he was left with "no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth", also accused his parents of "controlling narrative" and suggested they tried "endlessly to ruin" his relationship with Nicola Peltz Beckham.
He even claimed his mother had "cancelled making Nicola's dress in the eleventh hour" ahead of their wedding day in April 2022, which involved Lady Beckham reportedly “hijacking” their first dance.
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Shortly after the statement was made public, one of David Beckham's former Manchester United teammates took to social media to react.
John O'Kane, who played alongside Beckham at youth level before making seven first-team appearances for United, responded to the comments made by David's eldest son.
"I lived with Beckham for few years," he wrote on X. "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."
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He added: "Brand Beckham should not come before your kids no matter what has happened!!"
Brooklyn Beckham's statement in full as he hits out at parents
"I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private," he wrote on Instagram.
"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.
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"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 come 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.
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"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."
Brooklyn went on: "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.
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"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.
"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 the way for years 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 my mum's support to save displaced dogs from the LA fires, she refused.
"The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, that anxiety has disappeared.
"I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose and have found peace and relief."
He added: "My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for our future family."
SPORTbible has reached out to David Beckham's team for comment.
Topics: David Beckham, Man Utd, Premier League
Jack Kenmare