David Beckham: My children make mistakes on social media

1 month ago 17

By Anita Singh

January 21, 2026 — 8.53am

Sir David Beckham has said “children make mistakes on social media” in his first comments since his son Brooklyn Peltz Beckham’s incendiary Instagram post.

Sir David was interviewed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he is promoting a sports partnership with the Bank of America.

Brooklyn Beckham, left, and Nicola Peltz attend the Victoria Beckham Spring/Summer 2025 collection presented in Paris in September, 2024, before the family fractures.

On the eve of that appearance, Peltz Beckham, 26, posted a lengthy statement on Instagram accusing his parents, Sir David and Lady Beckham, of trying to control his life and ruin his marriage to Nicola Peltz Beckham.

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box program about the dangers of social media for children’s mental health, Sir David said: “I’ve always spoken about social media and the power of social media, for the good and for the bad. The bad we’ve talked about with what kids can access these days and it can be dangerous.

“But what I’ve found personally, especially with my kids: use it for the right reasons.”

Sir David said he used his own social media platform to promote his work as a global ambassador for Unicef, adding: “I’ve tried to do the same with my children, to educate them.

“They make mistakes. Children are allowed to make mistakes. That’s how they learn. So that’s what I try to teach my kids. But, you know, you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well.”

The former England star did not make any direct reference to Peltz Beckham’s Instagram post, in which his list of grievances included the claim that Lady Beckham, the former Spice Girl, “hijacked” the first dance at his wedding with an “inappropriate” display that left him humiliated.

He also claimed that he and Peltz had travelled to London for Sir David’s 50th birthday celebrations last year, but that his father only agreed to meet him on condition that Peltz was not invited.

Peltz Beckham claimed his parents’ social media accounts presented a fake picture of a happy family, saying: “My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first.

“Family ‘love’ is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.”

Asked about the family’s fallout on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister is addressing a number of different issues at the moment, but the prime minister has always been clear that diplomacy is very important.”

(From left) Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham at the premiere of the Netflix docuseries Beckham in London in 2023.

Sir David and Lady Beckham have not responded to the claims. The couple have four children – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

Peltz Beckham said he had suffered “overwhelming anxiety” all his life, which had subsided only now that he had left the confines of his family and found happiness with Peltz.

He has not spoken to his parents or siblings for the past year.

Peltz Beckham, 26, married Peltz, 31, an actress and the daughter of Nelson Peltz, the billionaire businessman, in 2022.

“My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped,” Peltz Beckham claimed, accusing Lady Beckham in particular of trying to sabotage the romance.

“My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour, despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress,” he said.

At the wedding in Miami, Marc Anthony, the singer and close friend of the Beckhams, offered to perform.

Reports at the time said he invited “the most beautiful woman in the room” to join Peltz Beckham for the first dance, only to add: “Come on up ... Victoria Beckham.”

In his statement, Peltz Beckham said: “My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song.

“In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, which in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife, but my mum was waiting to dance with me instead.

“She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”

The couple decided to renew their vows “so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment”.

In other wedding drama, Peltz Beckham claimed that Lady Beckham called him “evil” when he and Peltz chose to include two of their grandmothers – Sir David’s mother, Sandra, and Peltz’s “Naunni” – on the top table.

Both sets of parents were sitting at adjacent tables, but it has been reported that the Beckhams were unhappy not to be beside their son.

Peltz Beckham claimed: “My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one.

“My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable.”

Brooklyn Beckham has confirmed years-long speculation of a rift between himself, his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham, and his parents, Sir David Beckham and Lady Victoria Beckham, in a sensational statement shared to Instagram.

He also claimed that, weeks before the big day, Sir David and Lady Beckham “repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which have affected me, my wife and our future children.

“They were adamant on me [sic] signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since.”

Peltz Beckham claimed that he and Peltz had been subjected to attacks in the press “since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family” and accused his brothers, Romeo and Cruz, of blocking him on Instagram in the summer.

Despite all this, he said the couple flew to London for the 50th birthday of Sir David, the former England captain, in 2025.

However, he said that the couple were “rejected for a week” while they waited in a hotel room, and claimed that Sir David would not see him “unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner”.

When a meeting was finally offered, Peltz Beckham alleged, it was “under the condition that Nicola wasn’t invited. It was a slap in the face”.

Peltz Beckham has tried to forge his own path as a photographer and a chef. He said: “My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first.

He said that he and Peltz had turned up to support “every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show ‘our perfect family’” but complained that “the one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused”.

The couple run a charity, the Peltz Beckham Foundation, which rescues stray dogs in Los Angeles, where they were living during the wildfires.

The eldest child, he said he had grown up with “overwhelming anxiety”.

He added: “For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared. I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief.”

While he has made “every effort to keep these matters private”, he said, he felt forced to speak out after his parents’ side of the story repeatedly appeared in the press.

In an interview with the Times in 2022, Peltz denied that there was any bad blood with her in-laws: “It’s not a feud! Why do they say ‘feud’?”

She said Lady Beckham had sent word that her atelier could not make a wedding dress on time, but insisted there were no hard feelings about it. She wore Valentino Couture instead.

Peltz Beckham was the only one of the Beckhams’ children not to play a role in Lady Beckham’s recent Netflix documentary.

He was glimpsed from afar, arriving with Peltz at Lady Beckham’s Paris Fashion Week show, but otherwise did not feature alongside Romeo, Cruz and Harper. Neither Sir David nor Lady Beckham has publicly addressed the estrangement.

Telegraph, London

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