Until this week, I thought Brooklyn Beckham’s funniest contribution to popular culture was his attempt at photography, in which he tried and failed to take a picture of a massive elephant stood in front of him. However, in the wake of a harsh, accusatory statement made against his parents earlier this week, Brooklyn’s photography montage might just have been topped by Gen z’s meme-ification of the brutal denouncement of his parents.
In the statement, Brooklyn called out the family’s controlling tendencies and accused them of interfering with his relationship to wife, Nicola Peltz, suggesting they went so far as to ruin his wedding. After a summary of their supposedly manipulative behaviour, Brooklyn defended his decision to no longer associate with his parents and to instead cultivate his own life and identity separate from them – (he’s keeping the Beckham name, though, just for safe measure).
This sudden announcement is not entirely out of the blue as there has been speculation of tension within the family for a while. It was a shock, regardless, as such a public attack of his parents held a heavy implication that the image we’ve been sold of the Beckham family for quite some time may not be very truthful.
As beloved British icons, David and Victoria’s relationship has been revered by fans for decades. Each have an enduring legacy and range of individual and combined successes, but above all else, it was the authenticity of their relationship and the impression that they remain a perfect match all these years later that earned Posh and Bex their ‘power couple’ status. Their individual Netflix series’ were a notable reminder of this, with the finale of David’s series depicting a memorable scene of the family dancing together – the picture perfect image of a happy household.
Of course, it goes without saying that many celebs present their lives to the public in ways that are not entirely honest. Maintaining an image is part of the job description when you have a powerful media presence, and much of the content put out (including the couple’s Netflix series’) is undoubtedly intended to help cultivate that image. Most of us would be rightfully sceptical of such media, and yet Brooklyn’s statement implies not just that the family have presented an edited, glossy version of their dynamic, but rather an image of perfection that is entirely fake.
It’s hard to know exactly how truthful Brooklyn’s claims are. There’s not really been any evidence so far to justify his accusations, nor have Victoria or David spoken out publicly in response. Truthfully, the statement reads very much like an angry teenager who’s decided he’s annoyed with his family and is now rehashing ambiguous moments from the past and framing them as evidence of his parent’s unacceptable, controlling behaviour. In reality, it seems unlikely that they would be truly as bad as he’s making them out to be, not only due to the lack of footage from the wedding itself, but also because most parents are not out to ruin their kids’ lives.
The 26-year old is emblematic of a nepo baby. From photography, to modelling, to a cooking show, Brooklyn has dabbled in many fields to which he probably would not have had access were it not for his parents’ legacy. It’s convenient that as soon as he gets married he would denounce them, completely ignoring the immense privilege that he has been the subject of over the years. It’s hard to believe that the Beckham’s would be out to get their son in the way that he seems to be suggesting, given that they have clearly dedicated time, money and love into allowing him to explore such a vast variety of domains.
It’s also important to consider that as a family who are so heavily involved in the media, a certain amount of control over their children’s presentation is probably very necessary. What Brooklyn perceives to be ‘controlling’ is likely Victoria and David’s idea of protection, but as many of us know from when we are ourselves were adolescents, it’s often hard to recognize that fact in the moment.
So does this mean Brooklyn is in the wrong here? Probably not entirely. These types of situations rarely involve one person being right and the other being wrong. Victoria and David may very well be overbearing and dishonest in how they depict their families dynamic and protect or control their kids. But Brooklyn seems slightly immature and out of touch to be hurling such strong accusations against parents who have provided him with an insane amount of privilege and love.
Ultimately, this is the type of ambiguous situation that we can’t make a very objective assessment over unless we see footage from the wedding or receive a statement from Posh and Bex. In the meantime, all we can do is thank Brooklyn for providing us with a prompt for the onslaught of TikTok’s depicting Victoria busting a move during what allegedly should have been his first dance with his wife and wait to see if the Beckham’s have any more to say on the matter.