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Home · Celebrity

Mel B's Lawyer Claims Singer Was 'Drugged Throughout Course Of Marriage' To Estranged Husband Stephen Belafonte

Mel B’s Lawyer Claims Singer Was ‘Drugged Throughout Course Of Marriage’ To Estranged Husband Stephen Belafonte
Todd Williamson/Getty
By Karen Mizoguchi · Updated October 26, 2020
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Ahead of Mel B and estranged husband Stephen Belafonte‘s divorce trial, new details of their 10-year marriage have emerged in a court proceeding in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The America’s Got Talent judge, whose real name is Melanie Brown, claims Belafonte, whom she wed in Las Vegas in June 2007, drugged her throughout “much to most” of the relationship, according to his lawyer, Philip Cohen, as reported by multiple outlets. “Miss Brown now takes the position she was drugged by Mr. Belafonte throughout the course of the marriage,” Cohen said in L.A. Superior Court. Belafonte and his legal team responded to Brown’s allegations, claiming they are “nothing more than a smear campaign.” A rep for Brown did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.   Also in court on Wednesday, Brown’s lawyers said Belafonte had at least 56 videos, a third of which were “of a sexual nature,” according to The Sun. Susan Wiesner, a member of Brown’s legal team, said “90 percent” of the videos were of the former Spice Girl and were made without Brown’s consent. Belafonte’s lawyers dismissed the claim, arguing that the videos were “consensual.” In April, Brown, 42, filed for a temporary restraining order against her ex and accused him of physically and emotionally abusing her. Brown alleged in her TRO filing that she was “in fear” for her life and that Belafonte’s alleged abuse ramped up when her career was on an upswing. She also claimed in the filing that Belafonte hired a German exchange student, Lorraine Gilles, to be their nanny and pitted the two women against each other. Brown claimed the nanny’s relationship with Belafonte became sexual and that he impregnated her before demanding an abortion. Brown was granted a restraining order against Gilles in April, but Gilles in turn sued Brown for defamation, claiming her pregnancy was the result of a one-night stand.  
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A month before the filing, the former Spice Girl filed for divorce in March after nearly 10 years of marriage and asked for joint legal and physical custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Madison. Brown also requested to terminate the court’s ability to award spousal support in her filing. Then in July, PEOPLE confirmed Brown was ordered to pay Belafonte $40,000 per month in temporary spousal support and pay for $140,000 in attorney fees and forensic fees on Belafonte’s behalf. The full divorce hearing has been rescheduled to begin on Nov. 6. This article originally appeared on People.
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