Mel B’s daughter Phoenix Chi has revealed how she was bullied growing up and found life as the daughter of a Spice Girl harder than people might think.
The 25-year-old DJ explained that despite having a famous mother, she was unpopular at school and struggled to make friends, but has since been able to develop a successful career thanks to her status as Mel’s daughter.
The aspiring artist said The mirror in an exclusive interview that having famous parents made her time at school difficult as she couldn’t take Mel B, 49, to parents’ evenings or events.
She added that at one point the bullying became so bad that a ‘We hate Phoenix club’ was formed at her school in the US.
Despite the difficult time at school, Phoenix admitted that it got easier as she got older and she developed a thicker skin, but believes she was also targeted because of her race.
Mel B’s daughter Phoenix Chi, 25, has revealed how she was bullied growing up and found life as the daughter of a Spice Girl was harder than people think
The DJ explained that despite having a famous mother, she was unpopular at school and struggled to make friends
She added that at one point the bullying became so bad that a ‘We hate Phoenix club’ was formed at her school in the US.
She said: ‘I was a colored girl, I had big hair, I was loud. Some kids just don’t like that and I was bullied all through school. It was bad.’
Now that she explains, she can look back on those difficult experiences and see how they shaped her.
Phoenix is Mel’s firstborn, conceived during Mel’s short-lived marriage to Dutch backup dancer Jimmy Gulzar.
The pop star has two other children, both girls: Angel Murphy Brown, 17, with Eddie Murphy and Madison Brown Belafonte, 11, with her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.
Mel, from Leeds, has previously described her eldest child Phoenix, who grew up in the US, as ‘very wise’.
The women share a close bond, with Phoenix regularly dressing up as Mel during her Scary Spice heyday.
Speaking about her new Channel 4 documentary, Born In The Limelight: Nepo Babies UNTOLD, Phoenix readily admits that her position as a celebrity daughter has given her a huge advantage in life.
She said it allowed her to pursue her dream of becoming a DJ, but notes that it can be much more difficult for others who want to pursue a creative career.
Phoenix is Mel’s firstborn from her short-lived marriage to Dutch backup dancer Jimmy Gulzar. The singer has another daughter Angel Murphy Brown, 17, with Eddie Murphy and Madison Brown Belafonte, 11, with her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte
And that’s why Scary Spice’s daughter goes undercover in her latest show to reveal just how skewed the creative landscape is.
Phoenix was shocked to discover how far her name took her and the show follows her as she earns thousands of pounds from her paintings, despite having no artistic background.
For the show, the musician invited 90 ‘fake babies’ to take part, but all declined except Jack Keating, son of Boyzone’s Ronan.
And the reactions to her documentary from other famous children frustrated her.
The star said: ‘The fact that people are shying away from it a bit, I think is a bit ridiculous.’
And while not everyone was pleased with her documentary, Phoenix was glad she made it to help her mother understand her experience.
Phoenix explained that Mel B has struggled to reconcile her parenting style of keeping her children grounded with the benefits of a famous parent.
She said: ‘She doesn’t like to think about it that way because she hasn’t come through life that way. So it was hard to get her to understand it in a way.”
In Phoenix’s new documentary she is shocked to discover how far her name has taken her and the show follows her as she earns thousands of pounds from her paintings despite having no artistic background.
And while not everyone was pleased with her documentary, Phoenix was glad she made it to help her mother understand her experience as the child of a famous person.
Phoenix hopes that her documentary will make people more understanding of fake babies.
She added, “Don’t always be mad at nepotistic babies because if you were in their shoes, you could do the same.”
Phoenix’s new show follows on from her stint on Celebrity Gogglebox with her mother earlier this year.
Phoenix appeared alongside Mel in the latest series of Celebrity Gogglebox, series six, which aired in June and July.
And now, according to The Sun, she will star in a Channel 4 documentary following new artists as they try to break into the industry.