Mel C has revealed that a heated argument with Victoria Beckham at the 1996 BRIT Awards nearly resulted in her being thrown out of the Spice Girls. Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the singer, now 52, recalled telling a bandmate to "f**k off" during a dispute over her appearance, and said she feared she would "lose everything" after learning her fellow members were "disgusted" by her outburst. The account offers a rare glimpse into the internal tensions within one of Britain's most successful pop groups during their early rise to fame.

The row reportedly erupted because Mel C had taken her hair out of its usual ponytail, which her bandmates felt disrupted the group's carefully managed collective image — and all this occurred before the band had even released any music. Mel described how the Spice Girls would "police" one another to stop members going "off the rails", and this incident was cited as an example of that dynamic being turned on her. Victoria Beckham has distanced herself from the group in recent years and did not take part in their 2019 reunion tour.