Mel B. Addresses Domestic Abuse in Brutally Honest

This Monday on Good Morning Britain, Mel B. spoke about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex husband, Stephen Belafonte. She went into detail regarding the ways in which he physically and mentally controlled her in her new book, Brutally Honest.

During the show, the hosts read his “right of reply” which according to the BBC Editorial Guidelines of Section 6’s Fairness, Contributors and Consent:

‘When our output makes allegations of wrongdoing, iniquity or incompetence or lays out a strong and damaging critique of an individual or institution the presumption is that those criticised [sic] should be given a ‘right of reply’, that is, given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations.’

Mel B. spoke out against that as well, stating, “You shouldn’t do the right of reply. He shouldn’t have a platform to do a reply.” Which host, Piers Morgan, says, “unfortunately we have to do that, whether we wanted to or not. And I didn’t want to. So I’m with you on this. I’m Team Mel. Team Scary.” She smiles and responds “Good” thereby acknowledging their solidarity with her in spite of their duties as television hosts.

According to dailymail she described the reasons why she is wrote Brutally Honest and the abuse she suffered:

“I had an unfortunate ten year marriage; very coercive and abusive. Something we don’t talk about, because it’s taboo. I wanted to address all these different situations due to living such a life for 10 years. I wanted to own it take back my power in a respectful way, I think. […] Writing the book was cathartic and therapeutic… It is a chapter in my life that has been put to rest.

My kids weren’t allowed to eat at the table, it’s all about control, he would set rules I had to abide by and some were worth fighting for and some weren’t because of the ramifications, especially when I’m working and doing live TV – I didn’t want to be having to cover another bruise and make up another lie.

I bought them a table and made sure they were allowed to eat presentably at a table. Of course I hid that, there were lots of things I hid but that was one of the sad things about that kind of behavior I got into.”

The importance of coming out to speak of domestic abuse is one filled with guilt after trauma. Victims blame themselves because from the outside they are judged as people who choose to put up with the abuse but the tragic reality is that they are severely brainwashed into the situation. Despite how much loved ones may argue against their situation, their need to be loving and understanding tends to overpower the fact that they are being hurt and very unhappy.

We commend Mel B. for speaking out and coming forward with situations that may be hurtful and embarrassing to look back on and we hope that it helps other victims come out and heal from their own as well.