MEL B has hit back at ex Stephen Belafonte’s “baseless” defamation lawsuit against her - demanding he and his lawyers are hit with immediate sanctions. The Spice Girl has enlisted the services of the mighty US law firm Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, who are part of the legal team investigating Donald’s Trump’s assassination attempt and have for years represented Elon Musk. They were also Kanye West’s legal advisers - but dumped the rapper after his antisemitic remarks in 2022.
Mel B walked out on her marriage to Belafonte in 2017 after ten years of an abusive and controlling relationship, which she details in media interviews and her autobiography Brutally Honest. The 49-year-old has gone onto be a patron for domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid - and has now resettled to live close to her native Leeds. Film producer Belafonte filed a lawsuit in a Florida court last month claiming that she wrongly depicts him as a violent monster and had been left broke by the disintegration of their marriage.
But Mel has for the first time hit back at Belafonte’s complaint - and her lawyer has filed for a Motion for Sanctions claiming that her attorney fees and costs should be paid for filing this "baseless suit”. She demands Belafonte pays her legal bill under the Florida Rule 11, which is "to deter baseless filings in the district court". The doc adds: "Given the text and purpose of Rule 11, the appropriate sanction here is an order requiring Belafonte and his counsel to pay Brown’s attorney’s fees and costs for filing this motion and otherwise defending against this baseless suit.
” She says the suit fails on three levels - Belafonte has only been a Florida resident since 2023 and the events precede this, allegations are after the two-year statue of limitations, and Belafonte’s injunction request prevents Mel from ever speaking about their marriage. Her lawyers add: " Stephen Belafonte should be sanctioned under Rule 11(c) for his blatant abuse of judicial process in filing this action, which lacks any colorable basis in fact or law.” It goes onto say: "Displeased with Brown’s exercise of her constitutionally protected freedoms, Belafonte filed this baseless SLAPP suit to litigate plainly time-barred matters in a foreign forum that lacks personal jurisdiction over Brown.
"And as if that were not bad enough, Belafonte reveals his bad faith by asking the Court to enter a flagrantly unconstitutional injunction that would prevent Brown from ever speaking publicly about her memoir or Belafonte for the rest of her life. "Although dismissal is both warranted and necessary, the only medicine strong enough for this vexatious lawsuit is an order sanctioning Belafonte and his counsel.” Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families: If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200.
The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected] .
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm. You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247..
