Last we heard, Mel B‘s financial situation was getting pretty dire, but according to her latest legal claims, things are on the verge of taking a really scary turn for the worse. (Sorry, had to!)
According to new court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the Spice Girls member is “teetering on the brink of bankruptcy” and cannot afford to pay court-ordered spousal and child support as well as cover legal fees for her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte, with whom she shares 9-year-old daughter Madison.
While financially in the red, Mel is currently expected to fork over $500,000 to her ex, which a judge ordered her to pay on September 18. Half a million dollars is a steep bill for anyone, but the unemployed pop star says especially for her!
Related: Mel B’s Former Assistant Accuses Her Of Verbal & Emotional Abuse
In her filing, the 45-year-old asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to modify the outstanding amount, which is said to be comprised of $400,000 in legal fees plus $100,000 in accounting fees, because she simply doesn’t have the funds right now. Mel argued:
“I will effectively be insolvent and will in all likelihood have to file for bankruptcy. I simply do not have the ability to pay such an exorbitant sum.”
Despite earning somewhere between $2 million to $10 million from last year’s Spice Girls reunion tour of the UK, the singer claims that she has been unable to work this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“While I hope to find employment opportunities for 2021, I anticipate that it will be difficult to find work as an entertainer in these unprecedented times. I am informed and believe that there will not be any events or concerts in 2021. Therefore, I have no idea how long it will be before I can work and the businesses can earn any significant further income.”
Your guess is as good as ours, gurl!
The America’s Got Talent alum claims her lack of income, plus her $2.5 million debt to the IRS, the $15,000 a month she pays Belafonte in spousal support, the $7,300 she pays in child support for Madison, plus her own legal fees, have essentially left her broke.
Without enough liquid cash, the Wannabe singer said she was also forced to drop her increasingly expensive legal petition for full custody of her daughter, which Belafonte has repeatedly opposed as the co-parents battle it out in court. Mel B had every intention of relocating Madison to England to be raised alongside her older sisters Angel (daughter of Eddie Murphy) and Phoenix (daughter of Jimmy Gulzar).
According to the docs, the star was able to get cash help from her two companies — Purple Owl and MoneySpider — to pay off some of her court-ordered debts, but her estimated personal expenses for next year totaling $700,000 have stopped her short of being able to pay those off completely AND still support her lifestyle as a mother. After reportedly being denied a $600,000 loan from her business partner, getting a reduction on the outstanding amount is her best (and only?) option.
Mel’s next court hearing to modify the $500K bill has been set for January 11, 2021, which her attorney Adam Schanz, believes will give her enough time to “assert her requests for financial relief.” Hopefully, presiding Judge Mark Juhas will hand her a break!
Do YOU feel bad for Scary Spice? Let us know what you think, Perezcious readers!
[Image via Mel B/Stephen Belafonte/Instagram]