Mel B opens up about the racism she experienced at the height of Spice Girls fame

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death and in light of the on-going Black Lives Matter movement, many celebrities have come forward to share their own experience with racism. Just as racism doesn’t stop at the border, it also doesn’t stop at a certain level of fame, Mel B reminds fans in a new interview.

Spice Girls' Melanie Brown recently opened up to the UK's Daily Star about the discrimination she experienced throughout her career, including the anti-Black racism she faced at the height of the Spice Girls' fame. Prior to a performance for Prince Charles and Nelson Mandela in Sun City, South Africa in 1997, the group was shopping at a designer clothing store. While shopping, Mel was reportedly asked to leave the store by an employee, which shocked and horrified her bandmates.

"Of course, all the girls had a go at the assistant because they were so shocked," Mel recalls. “It's pretty awful to think I wasn't actually shocked because if you are brown then there's always a part of you that expects some confrontation."

Melanie, whose father is from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, grew up in London's Hyde Park area and admits that she was aware from a young age that she “rarely saw people of the same colour" as her, and says she was often the target of racist name-calling at school.

When the Spice Girls broke onto the music scene with their first international hit ‘Wannabe’ in 1996, Brown says the discrimination followed her. While on set to film the single's music video, the styling team immediately suggested that they straighten her hair prior to filming. "I refused point-blank because my hair was my identity," says of the experience. "And yes, it was different to all the other girls but that was what the Spice Girls were about – celebrating our differences."

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In an effort to show her bandmates what it’s like to be “the only brown girl in the room," Mel says she once brought 'Ginger Spice' Geri Horner to an underground blues and bass club in Leeds. "I think it's almost impossible for white people to understand what it is to be Black or brown," she explains. Once there, Mel says she asked Geri, "Look around and tell me what you see." When Geri responded by saying, "Everyone else in here is Black except me," Mel says she told her bandmate, 'That's what it's like for me nearly every day."

She went on to explain that that she feels "incredibly proud" to see so many people standing up now, and protesting for justice following the murder of George Floyd.

On Monday, former Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham also spoke about in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, adding that it's time for the fashion industry to embrace more diversity.While Mel B's experiences with anti-Black racism during her Spice Girls years may be shocking to some, it continues to be a reality for many entertainers. Last week Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock also spoke out about the racism she's faced throughout her career, noting that it often feels like her “talent alone isn’t enough" as the only Black member of the girl group.

.@LittleMix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock speaks out on racism and her personal experiences with it:

“My reality is constantly feeling like I have to work ten times harder and longer to mark my place in the group — because my talent alone isn’t enough.” pic.twitter.com/HaFN7dPHcy— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 6, 2020

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