Mel B's ex-husband is denying the pop star's s claims that he was physically and sexually abusive to her throughout their 10-year marriage.
On Wednesday, May 29, Stephen Belafonte filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against his ex — who was born Melanie Brown — accusing her of engaging in a "deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him severe emotional distress and destroy his reputation."
The former Spice Girl bandmate has alleged that the film producer repeatedly abused her leaving her with years of trauma. However, Belafonte told a news outlet it wasn't true.
"Never, not once," he said. "We never had a physical argument. We never had anything close to it. And to think that I was this monster … I’m a goofball."
Belafonte claimed that he had his own history of being exposed to abusive behavior, alleging his father had been physical with his mother.
"That’s why I’m the way I am as a father. I don’t believe in that," he said, referring to 12-year-old daughter Madison, who he shares with the singer. "I’m totally, totally for anybody who does do it for them; they get the maximum extent of [punishment for] whatever they’ve done."
The producer also had a firm message directed toward his ex-wife.
"Please do not try to say, ‘Oh, he’s being abusive and the court system is going to be against me.’ Go to court and show the world your evidence,'" he said. "Don’t try to settle. I ask you, please bring your evidence. Come to court and show the world that everything that you said, the thousand lies out there, you’re gonna have to back them all up."
Belafonte concluded, "See you in court."
As OK! previously reported, Mel B and Belafonte were married from 2007 through 2017. Following their split, the America's Got Talent alum began speaking out about the alleged abuse she endured throughout the relationship.
"Trauma from abuse never goes. So you need to be able to recognize it, be kind to yourself and just quiet that voice, which you can do," she explained in an interview published earlier this year. "You have to just basically say to yourself, ‘It’s not your fault and he was the problem, not you.’ And you just have to heal yourself. And that’s going to be a lifetime, a long journey for me."
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Page Six obtained the lawsuit details and conducted the interview with Belafonte.
