David Beckham Reacts to Son Brooklyn's Estrangement: 'Let Children Make Mistakes'

Brooklyn, 26, is the eldest of the Beckhams’ four children. In an 821-word statement published on Instagram on Monday night, he said he did not want to reconcile with his family. He accused his mother and father of “controlling” the media narrative and said that he was “standing up for himself for the first time in my life”. None of the Beckhams has directly addressed Brooklyn’s statement since it was published, and David dodged questions from reporters at Davos on Tuesday. He walked away when asked by a reporter: “David, do you have a message for Brooklyn this morning?” However, Sir Keir Starmer did weigh in on the family feud amid rising international tensions over a possible invasion of Greenland. His spokesman said: “The prime minister’s obviously addressing a number of different issues at the moment, but I think the prime minister’s always been clear that diplomacy is very important.” Meanwhile, doubts have been cast over Brooklyn’s account of his £3 million 2022 wedding to Nicola Peltz, an American billionaire heiress and actress. Brooklyn said his mother pulled out of making Peltz’s dress at the “11th hour despite how excited she was to wear her design”. However, at the time Peltz’s stylist said that it had taken a year to design the Valentino dress she ended up wearing, suggesting it was not a last-minute process. Brooklyn also said he had “never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life” when his mother “hijacked” his first dance with his new bride. “In front of our 500 wedding guests, [the singer] 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,” he said. “She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.” • Where does Brooklyn’s explosive attack leave Brand Beckham? However, accounts from guests suggest that this moment was not Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s official first dance, and that the couple held a separate first dance earlier in the celebrations, to Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love. A 2022 Vogue article by Derek Blasberg — who attended the wedding — described the moment of the mother-son dance. It said: “At 11pm, the circular stage revolved 180 degrees and Marc Anthony magically appeared for a live set that opened with I Need To Know. Brooklyn invited his mother on stage for a dance and they were joined by David and their ten-year-old daughter, Harper.” In his statement, Brooklyn ruled out reconciling with his family. He said the idea Peltz “controls” him was “completely backwards”, and concluded: “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.” Brooklyn Beckham has also alleged that his family put “Brand Beckham” above everything else. He claimed that before his wedding, his parents “repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name” in order that they could sign a deal. “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.” Since 2016 Victoria Beckham has held the trademark for all four of her children’s names, and the family have deals which allow brands to use the Beckham name for commercial purposes. The trademark on Brooklyn Beckham’s name is due to expire later this year, and experts said this means he could create a “Beckham-Peltz brand” which would pose a threat to the Beckhams. • Brooklyn Beckham-Peltz’s hot sauce: is it worth the hype at £15? Mark Borkowski, the PR guru, told The Times: “There could be an issue over the trademark to Brooklyn’s name as it is set to expire later this year or early next. Brooklyn was asked to sign to protect his rights because David and Victoria have commercial partners who have some rights over the Beckham name. “But Brooklyn has other ideas. People don’t realise just how rich and powerful the Peltz family is in New York. So they will be sitting down with their lawyers and trying to create a Beckham-Peltz brand which starts to erode the Beckham dynasty. It’s an existential threat for the countless branding deals the Beckhams have because if there is another powerful Beckham brand out there then it can erode the power of yours.”