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Mel B wore a Spice Girls-inspired gown as she received her honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University.
Over the weekend, the 49-year-old Spice Girls member and Leeds native received an honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University. In photos shared by the university, Mel B can be seen celebrating her milestone with Scary Spice fierceness, donning a bespoke graduation gown lined with ‘90s-esque leopard print. She wore the graduation gown over a glittery olive green dress with a keyhole cutout, pairing the look with statement hoop earrings and a sleek manicure.
Mel B - whose full name is Melani Brown - rose to fame in the 1990s through her Spice Girls pop star persona, Scary Spice, who was often associated with animal prints and edgier, sexier silhouettes. The award recognized not only her influence as a global “music icon,” but also her work with domestic abuse victims.
“WOWWWWW I have no words… 48 hours on I still feel so emotional… this day has been so special to me,” she wrote on her Instagram, sharing how much the recognition meant to her. “I can’t believe I did it. I was so nervous but so excited at the same time. This means more to me than I’ll ever be able to say.”
The singer added that she planned on further pursuing her education on domestic violence. She explained how receiving her honorary doctorate matters not only because of her experience as a domestic abuse survivor, but also because she hopes to “help many many more people too.”
“This is my mission, this is all about one thing, being a survivor — helping survivors, breaking the silence and using my voice to help others,” she concluded, thanking her family for their support as well. During her acceptance speech, Mel B also revealed that the award meant just as “massive” of a deal for her as performing on stage with the Spice Girls at Wembley Stadium in London.
In recent years, the singer accused ex-husband Stephen Belafonte of emotional and physical abuse during their marriage, which ended in 2017. Belafonte has repeatedly denied the claims.
“Obviously any situation is better than being with your abuser, but when you’ve left that kind of abusive situation, it’s like starting all over again,” she previously told the BBC. “You have to learn to trust people. You have to learn to trust yourself.”
Mel B explored her trauma in the expanded version of her memoir, Brutally Honest, in which she candidly wrote about what she endured throughout the 10-year marriage and the aftermath of their separation.
“I think it’s so important to honestly say what happens when you leave abuse, because it’s not as easy as some people may think,” she told People in March. “For example, my mother would say, ‘What’s wrong with you? You’re fine now. You’ve left him.’ And I’d be going, ‘Yeah, but now I’ve got to pick up the pieces and I’ve got to deal with the shame and the guilt, and I want to protect my kids.’ And I don’t want to block out what happened because I did that for a little bit, and you get PTSD.”
The divorce led her to ultimately leave Los Angeles, California, and move back to England to stay with her mother, Andrea Brown. The move helped Mel B save money to buy her own home again, which at the time seemed out of reach after being saddled with numerous legal fees and payments to her estranged ex-husband.
