Chapter 1: What is the growing fallout between Brooklyn Beckham and his family?
This is an Irish independent podcast. So I'll be honest, I didn't think we would be talking about Brooklyn Beckham today, but events, dear boy. We are the sad tale of Brooklyn Beckham versus his family. Happy to say here in studio, we have Ronan Mullen, who is also, I would say, wants to declare early on. He's very little to say about this subject.
He's unsure of this subject, but he's been good enough to sit alongside me nonetheless. Hello.
I'm sitting here very much in the producer capacity, but I'm happy to be here.
Happier to say again, though, because this guy is all over this story. Erstwhile Dave, Dave Hanratty, just last week, purveyor of all things pop culture, generally was part of a podcast on IndoDaily about the Beckhams. And little did you know that it was all going to blow up so spectacularly. You are here. Hello. Erstwhile Beckham, possibly, at this stage. Well, indeed. So I don't really know...
I suppose what happened this morning was the first thing I started talking to people about was this. And then you walked over and said, if you want to talk about this today, I'm around. I wonder, should we? You know, this is an interesting story in some ways that goes beyond just the kind of vacuous gossipy celebrity thing.
And then Kevin Doyle, our group head of news, came over and said, I am all over this story. And to be fair, when Brooklyn Beckham took to Instagram last night, it did create something of a frenzy. And there was, you know, lots of posts saying things like Greenland can wait a second. This, this is the thing. And well, here we are.
Kevin Doyle is locked in. I will say for anyone who doesn't listen to the Indo Daily or the sister podcast to Indosport. Kev hosts usually about once a week, and it's almost always a really serious topic. It's almost a really grim, world-shattering problem. And last week, I was like, this Brooklyn Beckham thing is kind of interesting. Maybe we should do this.
I know it's a bit tabloidy, but it's a slice of life, and it's something a little bit different from the endless Donald Trump. is the world-ending January grimness schedule. And since then, I've converted that man. He is wired and locked in to the point that I found out about the Instagram stories last night from his WhatsApp message.
And literally, I swear to God, coming in today into the Indo newsroom, from every department I walked past, audience, business, video, audio, I'm naming and shaming everybody here. No one is not talking about this. It's on Sky News.
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Chapter 2: How did David Beckham's fame influence Brooklyn's identity?
It's on serious news outlets. And I understand that listeners might be like, lads, come on. It is January, it is grim, and I think people are absolutely delighted to get some form of escapism right now.
There is a general January crankiness before we get to Brooklyn Beckham, if I can just put forward two exhibits. Exhibit A, Eamon Dunphy and the Mirror. Roy Keane is becoming an embarrassment to football, to himself, perhaps to Ireland. Perhaps to Ireland. It's not right ever to attack a woman in a high profile situation like this. He is, of course, talking about Mrs. Carrick.
It is cheap, it is lazy and it is wrong. I feel ashamed for football and for Ireland. That's too ashamed for Ireland's because of Keane's antics. I feel for Carrick, he's taken on a big job at Old Trafford. He's trying to rebuild something meaningful. Keane, meanwhile, is doing adverts where he insults people for money, becoming a parody of the figure he once was. End quote.
I think there is a nub of a point there for sure. A lot of people felt crossed the line to get into anyone's spouse, marital situation. I mean, Rod Little, and quote, the young one he ran off with, did jump to mind, I have to say. But let's not let that get in the way.
That's an iconic soundbite, though. Keane's one I don't think is going to hold in history as much as that one did. It is a bit below the belt. And you could argue, if you want to play devil's advocate, you could say, well, he was responding to a criticism that was made against him 10 years ago or whatever it was. Yeah. showing how long he kept his powder dry on that one. It's not great though.
And it does feel a bit beneath him, but definitely a drive by. And the timing of it obviously is very, very suspect. And yeah, it's, you could argue that, listen, leave family members out of it, which is kind of ironic given everything we're going to talk about today.
Yeah. Exhibit B then. Nicky Bud on his podcast responding to Lissandra Martinez. Martinez had given the whole, you know, he can say it to my face or my house, I think. Nicky Butt, not rolling back. Like, OK, he played well against Harlem. Good for him. Delighted for him. Was very good and all that.
I just think that when someone gets so upset about something on a podcast to come out and say they can say what they want, come to my house, grow up, said Nicky Butt. If you're going to get so emotional about someone saying something about you and react like that, you shouldn't be at a big football club. See, there's crankiness out there.
Yeah, but is that not a bit of a schoolyard retort from Nicky Butt? Like he's telling someone else to grow up.
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Chapter 3: What tensions exist between Brooklyn and his parents?
deals and wanting to like essentially trademark his name all this kind of stuff so i would agree absolutely like listen we're not sitting here being like woe is brooklyn beckham the man has more money and freedom in life than anyone sitting at this table will ever have and probably everybody listening will ever have at the same time he didn't ask to be put into that life and if he's looking to emancipate himself right now from it that's his decision he's a grown man
David Beckham, of all places, arrived at Davos this morning. And as he was walking through, had some dude from Sky News shouting at him. David, do you have a message for Brooklyn this morning? David, are you disappointed family business is being aired in public? Needless to say, no comment.
Then I read, it says, David then joined Bank of America CEO on Squawk Box to discuss the latest market trends, the state of the economy, President Trump's tariffs threat, Bank of America's global sports program, of which he's an ambassador, and more. Jeez, he'd rather talk about Brooklyn than that.
Yeah.
Let's do a little timeline. I'll come to the statement and then we can chat about it. So Brooklyn Joseph Beckham, first born of David and Victoria. This was, see I also, I'm dating myself, I remember this relatively well. I was at the peak of my Manchester United David Beckham Because Beckham in 1999 was, I don't know if we only overuse the word great, but he was an amazing player.
You know what he was doing from set pieces, his crossing from plays, passing was phenomenal. Add in the good looks, the glamour, the fame, the predators, the hair, the brill cream. It was like if you were a teenage boy. Yeah. I can't. It was just a cocktail of wow.
Not to take you off course on your timeline here, but in terms of his athletic career, this was close to peak as well.
He's 24. Beckham is 23 when Brooklyn's born in March. He's about to turn 24 in May, the same month Manchester United will win the treble.
He had this tremendous nadir at the World Cup, which would have been the 97, 98 season, which United weren't successful in. And then he had this really famous thing with Diego Simeone and what followed and the effigies being burned and so on. But then he went on to have, I think, his best ever season for the club.
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Chapter 4: What role does social media play in the Beckham family's dynamics?
That was when he was starting to like wore a full body, full length leather suit.
We got the word, we got the word metrosexual. Yeah.
This was the, this is the metrosexual thing being born. Beckham birthed the metrosexual thing in a way into popular culture. So Brooklyn comes along. This is March 99. Like Beckham's on the radio. It's a big story. Why is he called Brooklyn? You made the point outside, Ronan. Brooklyn never really caught on. It didn't become a thing. It's not a good name.
I thought there was going to be a Brooklyn name boom, but there actually wasn't.
I know no Brooklyns. There's female Brooklyns, like Brooklyn Decker, that model who I think is married to Andy Roddick. I feel like it's more of a feminine name if it is genderized at all.
Okay. Brooklyn arrives, they win the treble. Like, it's the cover of this tile. It's very, very famous. It's the year 2000. United win the league at home. I think Beckham scored. It's in the sunshine. And Brooklyn's out on the pitch. And I think a lot of people then are like, oh, this is the kid that was born... 14 months ago, look at him. He's kind of walking and falling over.
He's adorably cute.
He's in the United jersey. He's not a nebulous OK magazine photograph. He's actually a real thing in front of us.
If anything, it's will he one day be raising the Premier League trophy just like his dad did? The answer is no. But at the time, people were effectively lining that up for him.
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Chapter 5: How has Brooklyn Beckham's career path diverged from his father's?
I was just going to say maybe, and here's the more charitable one, actually, because we all sort of have an inner algorithm. So maybe that is the sweet spot when he's on the pitch and they're celebrating and he's on the pitch like all the other kids. But maybe that's the day
whether they said it out loud to each other or not, Beckham, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, Jesus, the media loved this. Because they just followed Brooklyn around. It was just Brooklyn. Richard Keyes is in Sky Sports going, ah, even Richard Keyes. Richard Keyes is even moved by this scene of just perfection. Maybe on some level, that was the kind of the moment where they thought,
People love this.
Do you think that's possible? No, no, no. The reason I'm shaking my head is not at you. I'm shaking my head at the thought of that because think of the kid. Whatever age he was then, but even like before this kid could speak, before he could think, before he had object permanence, his life was decided that you will be a commodity. And yes, listen, don't get me wrong. He'll never want for anything.
He'll never struggle to pay rent. He'll never struggle to have a place to live. Whatever. Would you make that deal? I don't know. Maybe? Like, maybe. But like, how do you, like, this is, it's such a weird, I was almost going to say sliding doors moment, but you know, Schrodinger's Beckham. Like, I mean, Jesus Christ, maybe.
I mean, like, I will say like, you know, like I, you know, the idea of fame makes my skin crawl. I mean, the idea that you couldn't walk down the street and just, you know, be anonymous. Dave, it's a nightmare. Yeah, listen, I'm sure I knew that's why I wanted to pose it to you, Joe, because you know what this is like.
I mean, but the thing is, the thing about Broken Beckham really is that he is somewhat anonymous in a way. I think you would walk by him in the street.
Well, until today, when I was listening to clips for the podcast, I didn't even know what he sounded like. Oh, yes. Okay. So let's jump forward to where we are today.
It struck me, I said it to you, I think 30 to 40% of our audience will never have heard Brooklyn Beckham talk before.
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Chapter 6: What controversies surrounded Brooklyn's wedding to Nicola Peltz?
Easy and simple. Watching it, I really remembered most of those moments. There was some pieces of footage there that I've just never seen, which is kind of cool. It was crazy to see what, you know, my mum and dad have built. And even people that don't like football were just like, that was like the best documentary. So it turned out really good.
Yeah, he's English. But even like his intonation and delivery is exactly like David Beckham.
Well, that's the other thing about all this is you did get the sense, and I know I was meant to get this sense from what they were curating and putting forward, but you genuinely did get the sense that David
father and son were fairly besotted with each other you know for a long time wouldn't you say that's true definitely yeah yeah I mean there's all kinds of clips of Brooklyn surprising him at his birthday again surprising him at his birthday someone's filming it like so you do have to take seven yeah and even like you know listen Rowan there's the pro wrestling fans in the room I think we can all agree that like what you see is not always what you get you take everything with a pinch of salt in certain worlds but no I think it's fair that like
you know, he's the firstborn, like there's clearly a bond there. They both like, you know, it's, it's tough because I keep catching myself to be like, now, listen, I know he's rich, but like from doing my research last week on the, in the daily episode that we did, my takeaway was I kind of went in expecting to hate him. Right.
I, Brooklyn, I went in expecting to be like, this kid is the worst example of a NEPA baby. He's definitely a NEPA baby. There's no question about that. He's the worst example of avarice and opulence and hubris and whatever the hell. And I came out of it being like, Oh, like he seems kind of well-meaning and maybe like just a little bit kind of naive and like whatever.
Like he's in the world he's in and I'm not jealous of it, but like, you know, good for him. So I don't think he's a hateful person based on what I've seen. I really don't.
Yeah, I sense that too. So we're into the teenage years and this is where I think Brooklyn just emerges as a lost soul. I think most people view Brooklyn Beckham as a lost soul. He has no purpose in life. He has no discernible talent, but he's a nepo baby in whatever direction he chooses to go.
He'll have all sorts of doors open for him and he just can't find the resolve or the commitment to take advantage of any of them. So, for instance, he's in the Arsenal Academy as a young teenager. Will Brooklyn be a footballer? And deep down, you're like, I wouldn't say Brooklyn is that committed to it. And he isn't. And at 15, Arsenal say, listen, David.
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Chapter 7: How does Brooklyn's statement reflect his struggles with family expectations?
I'm going to go work on Indo Daily in an office. Because you're just, you're too famous to do that.
Yeah, I'll be part of a team. I'll have a boss to answer to. Yeah. Deadlines.
Yeah, stresses. Of course, when you don't have to, you're going to walk away from anything when it gets a little bit squeaky tough. And that's not actually a slight on his character. I think that's the interesting thing about the life he was kind of engulfed in.
Do you think that's irrevocable? Like there's a clamor for him to have a normal life
reading between the lines of a statement or even just reading the lines themselves but every chance he's had to pursue something that was I think he's too spoiled great off the Broadway too spoiled and I'm not saying he's a brat I think he's just been too spoiled by life to do that but is he hardwired do you sympathize with him for a lack of follow through on that ambition to be a normal person I do if he's unhappy
You know, if he's an unhappy person, if he's feeling listless and like he's got no purpose and nothing to do, then the guy's living in a gilded cage. And that's not a nice life. No. That said, I'd like a shot at it.
Because I think he could be very happy. Yeah, this is the thing. But also, the statement he made, right, is probably the most original, thought-provoking, unique thing he's come up with out of all these failed avenues. It would appear that actually fracturing his family and potentially destroying the brand forever... I mean, careful what you wish for. Maybe this was the destiny all along.
I'm just not sure it's a sustainable model of work.
No. He becomes a chef. Sorry, he doesn't. But again, it's a complete ridicule, the photography and then the cooking stuff. Cooking with Brooklyn 2021. He's a published author. You know, so like in the whole, there's plenty of like, Jesus, all your parents did was like support your every endeavor here, pal.
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Chapter 8: What future paths might Brooklyn Beckham pursue after this fallout?
Being a billionaire? Apart from that, no. He claims to be the man who introduced Donald Trump and Elon Musk. So it's his fault.
Crikey. They get married in 2022. 500 guests in attendance, including both families at the Peltz family estate in Miami. It's a nice property, I understand. Yeah. And from 22 on, there is talk of tensions, feud. She didn't wear a Victoria Beckham dress. This was one of the big kind of red flags. March 23, this is a year after the wedding, Nicola Peltz has been interviewed by Cosmopolitan.
I've said this so many times, there is no feud. And October 23, there's the David Beckham Netflix premiere. They're both there. Although people are revisiting the body language from that day. It's not good. No, it isn't. There's tension. Christmas 23. There are posts of Nicola and Victoria Beckham together doing kissy faces. You know, the Beckham Christmas production.
There's so many parallels here with Prince Harry and the Royal Family. I was just thinking, yeah. The Beckhams really try and be, I think they understand the longevity of Christmas. You know, Michael Bublé will always get a run at Christmas. I think the Beckhams are like, we're Christmas people.
Yeah, I don't know if it's redundant to emphasize, but for me, in my mind's eye, the royal family are obviously on this unique plane. And then in terms of the British culture, which seeps into what we consume, rightly or wrongly, the Beckhams have been or certainly were just a tiny notch below the royal family in terms of their primacy. So that's what we're talking about here.
Big time. January 24, two years ago, exactly. So again, there's a talk of the feud and the wedding dress and all that kind of stuff. But there's a video of Victoria Beckham and Nicola Peltz dancing together on the beach. And Victoria tweets, Happy birthday, Nicola Peltz. We love you so much. Your love, kindness and talent. The best dance partner and loving daughter-in-law. We love you.
You have an amazing day. It's even funny though, like it must be weird. What's that, there's like a principle, like the Hawthorne effect or something. When you know you're being watched, your behavior changes. So like they're videoing everything and they're dancing on the beach together. But like, it must be strange Nicola knowing This is going to be content. Exactly.
What am I... Are we getting on as a mother-in-law, daughter-in-law here? Or is this like a veneer of everything's okay? Because we both have been asked about rumours of a feud.
It's so like... Family outings and family meals basically are like a quarter four shareholders meeting. Like it's kind of even the thing that you read out there, that caption. What emotion did you detect in that? I mean, it's kind of like... I consider myself quite an emotional person and I've no problem...
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