Victoria Beckham speaks out about Brooklyn Beckham feud saying she was not a “pushy parent” during Emma Grede's podcast

Victoria Beckham has spoken out about a family dispute that saw her son claim his siblings and parents were "performative" in their affections and public appearances. In January, Brooklyn Beckham shocked celebrity watchers by announcing his distance from 'brand Beckham', while slamming parents David and Victoria and siblings Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, and Harper, 14.

In a shocking statement, Brooklyn claimed he had been "controlled by a family that values public promotion above all else", with "performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships". Now, Posh Spice Victoria has spoken of the feud on Emma Grede's podcast, Aspire, saying the family never intended to build a brand and that she was not a "pushy parent".

Emma, known as an investor on BBC show Dragons Den, asked the 52-year-old former Spice Girl how she decides what parts of the family's life "remains personal" and what is part of their brand.

"When David and I first met it was never our intention to start a brand," Victoria responded. "People talk about 'Brand Beckham'. That has happened so organically. When I first met David, I mean he was a Brylcreem boy.

"So David was Adidas and Brylcreem and Pepsi and I was in the Spice Girls and that's where I learnt so much about how to build a brand and marketing. While he was doing Brylcreem and Adidas, the Spice Girls were doing Walker's crips, Pepsi, Chupa Chups lollies, deodorant.

"Do you know? True story, my mother still has a Spice Girls' pizza in her oven. That pizza's been in the freezer for 30-odd years. So when, people talk about 'brand Beckham', that was never something that we even discussed."

The fashion designer insisted the pair remained focussed on separate projects, with Sir David working on Inter Miami, while she created her fashion and beauty empire.

"We don't have any deals together. David does what David does, I do what I do," she went on. "That's the way it's always been. We have very different interests. I think it was the outside world that really talked about brand Beckham, that's never really how we saw it. We're just doing what we do."

However, the former pop star acknowledged the Beckham children will have felt pressure growing up in the public eye but their parents "always tried to protect them", seemingly referencing Brooklyn's claims he grew up with "overwhelming anxiety".

"Our children have had a very different upbringing to myself and David and I think the world is also a very different place now then to what it was when they were younger," Victoria added. "We've always tried to protect the children as much as we can, we've always been very close."

But she said she had always tried to help the children and was "never pushy".

The bombshell revelations from Brooklyn have seen the family split, and it is understood he has not spoken to his parents since last May, when he and wife Nicola Peltz snubbed the former footballer's 50th birthday celebrations. Lawyers representing the pair later wrote to the Beckhams' legal team demanding they only converse through them.

Brooklyn's revelations included claims Victoria had called him "evil" for not being on the head table at his wedding to Nicola Peltz and said she "hijacked" their first dance. But Victoria said on the podcast: "Ultimately, we want the kids to be hard-working and kind. I've always wanted to be the best mum that I could be and look after the kids.

"I also feel it's been part of my job to really help them fulfil their full potential. It's never about being pushy, it's about being there to support. I think it's very different parenting adult children to parenting smaller children," she added. "I'm just trying to do the best that I can, you know? It's my job to make sure my kids are the best versions of themselves."

She also spoke of how the other Beckham children are pursuing their own dreams, including Cruz launching a music career. "When I look at Cruz, my little son, he's on tour at the moment, I said, "The most important thing is to learn your craft"," she said. "Cruz has spent years learning to play five or six different instruments, writing his own songs, putting a band together and touring small venues and doing it in a very humble way. He's incredibly talented and he's building his brand. That's just what we do."

Away from the public eye, she also revealed teen Harper had struggled with "really bad" acne, which inspired the teen to launch her own beauty brand, understood to be a range aimed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha, inspired by South Korean cosmetics.

It comes as reports claimed the Beckhams had trademarked the name HIKU BY Harper, putting the steps in motion for the upcoming beauty line.

"She came to me two or three years ago and she was really struggling with her skin," Victoria said. "She used to have beautiful skin, but like all young girls she was enticed by beauty brands and she was putting a lot of product on her face that was not suitable for her skin and consequently ended up going to see a dermatologist because her skin was really, really bad."

It was something Victoria said she could empathise with, having struggled with acne herself, adding: "She (Harper) said, "I want to create a brand because I know what I want and I don't want other people to have to go through what I have been through"."

"I'm so proud of all my children, but you know Harper is very ambitious, she's very appropriate but I don't know what I expected to be honest," she added. "I mean, she's been sitting on my lap taking part in beauty development meetings ever since she was little."