Mel B hit with hammer blow as she loses bid to have ex-husband's lawsuit against her thrown out

Stephen Belafonte is suing his ex Mel B, claiming that accusations aired in her autobiography of abusive and controlling behaviour during their decade-long marriage are defamatory

Mel B has failed in her latest bid to get ex-husband Stephen Belafonte’s defamation lawsuit thrown out of court.

The American film producer is suing Spice Girl Mel for claims she made about him being abusive and controlling during their time together, which she detailed in interviews and her autobiography Brutally Honest.

Mel’s legal team asked last month for the case to be thrown out. But this has been denied.

Mum-of-three Mel, 49, walked out on her marriage to Stephen in 2017. She accused him of domestic abuse, which he denies. Stephen, 49, added that authorities investigated the claims and no charges were brought.

On his £3.9m libel suit in Florida, he said: “I am ready to prove Melanie’s statements about me are false.”

In their filing to have the case dismissed, Mel’s lawyers said: “Brown should have never been dragged through the courts because of an exercise of [her] constitutional rights.”

The pair were married for 10 years and share a daughter, Madison, 13.

It comes after Mel B was awarded an honorary doctorate for her campaigning efforts back in July. At the time, said she feels "so so proud".

The singer was given the award from Leeds Beckett University in recognition of her work advocating for domestic abuse victims. She said the award was "as massive" as performing at Wembley Stadium with the Spice Girls.

Mel, who hails from Leeds, said she had also been studying on the Trauma Informed Care course at the university and had passed all of her exams.

“Being awarded this honorary degree from Leeds Beckett University has been life-changing," she added. “I didn’t just want to accept an award. I wanted to be accepted as a student at Leeds Beckett.

"Not only have I been awarded this degree, but I was also accepted as a student on the trauma informed care course, which has been a huge step for me in so many ways."

The pop icon added that becoming a student “was probably one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done, but it’s changed my life".