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Mel C Says 1996 Argument With Victoria Beckham Almost Cost Her Spice Girls Spot

Recent interviews during the group's 30th anniversary are reshaping the story of early tensions by revealing a near‑expulsion and reexamining Geri Halliwell’s sudden 1998 departure.

Overview

  • Melanie Chisholm told The Louis Theroux Podcast that a drunken row with Victoria Beckham after the 1996 BRIT Awards led bandmates Mel B and Geri Halliwell to say they were “disgusted” and prompted a manager’s warning that she could be expelled.
  • The spat occurred months before the release of the group's breakthrough single ‘‘Wannabe’’ and, according to Mel C, left her terrified she had jeopardized the childhood dream of joining the band.
  • Mel B told the Daily Telegraph that her worst Spice Girls memory was learning that Geri Halliwell quit on May 29, 1998, a sudden departure that shocked the group and forced the remaining members to carry on as a four‑piece.
  • Both accounts have surfaced as the group marks 30 years since ‘‘Wannabe,’’ with multiple members revisiting old divisions in interviews that add first‑person detail to long‑reported lineup changes.
  • The renewed attention to internal disputes comes as the group consolidates control of its legacy projects, a move that will allow owners to repackage the 1997 film Spice World and shape how the band's history is presented to new audiences.