The oldest daughter of Mel B admitted that her stepfather Stephen Belafonte called her names while married to her mother.
Phoenix Brown said that he would call her “ugly and retarded” and was “petrified” when he would argue with her mother.
The 23-year-old spoke with the Daily Mail about the abuse she saw her mother endure and how Belafonte verbally abused her. In addition, Brown reflected on how much her life changed after her mother married the film producer following the birth of her sister, Angel, a daughter Mel B. had with actor Eddie Murphy.
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“I had to stay in my room with the door shut. I wasn’t allowed to go in the fridge, but I had 30 minutes to make my packed lunch for school,” Brown said. “Often in the morning, he’d pull it out and eat my sandwiches, laugh at me and tell me to get to school.”
Brown also shared that Belafonte, no relations to the legendary actor Harry Belafonte, would call her names and how Belafonte had her dog put down.
“He’d tell me I was ugly and retarded all the time. I had this beautiful Labrador called Lordy, who we’d had since I was born. I loved him,” Brown said. “He’d laugh at me and tell me I was ugly and retarded. Stephen picked him up one day and threw him across the garden into the pool – Lordy was old. He was terrified. I couldn’t speak. A few weeks later, I came back from school, and Stephen told me he’d had him put down.”
Brown revealed that she has been quiet about these things for so long and how her mother would have terrible arguments with Belafonte and left her feeling useless.
“I kept quiet about so many things,” Brown said. “My mom was working all the time, earning money for him – for the family. I knew she was having a terrible time; she sort of shrank. They’d have these awful rows in their room; I’d stand outside petrified, feeling useless.”
Brown shared that she grew up looking after her sisters, Angel and Madison, Stephen’s daughter and Melanie’s mom.
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“But life went on. I looked after my sisters,” Brown said. “I tried to look after my mom too, but I was a kid. It was a big secret. We were meant to be a happy family. You carry on and shut down your emotions. That’s how you deal with it.”
Brown now visits schools and shares her story with students about living with abuse.
“I can see in the eyes of certain kids that they know exactly what I’m talking about,” Brown said. “You have to know it’s not your fault, and life can get better. Getting involved with Women’s Aid has helped me so much. I wanted to have something to say. I feel now I know who I am. I want to make my family proud, have an impact.”
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Brown is now a competitor of the ITV’s upcoming sports show, The Games, which will follow several celebrities taking on a wide range of sports.
The Games 2022 will kick off Monday at 9 pm on ITV.
