The Spice Girls were the biggest girl band of the ’90s, but any hopes of reforming since their 2019 tour have been dashed due to an ugly feud between two members.
Reports emerged this week that Geri Horner had derailed a huge deal for a TV drama that would have netted each of the five cast £1m each.
Insiders have claimed that talks were going well until Geri, 52, decided to withdraw from her involvement in the project.
It’s the latest blow for the band, as Ginger Spice is also said to have canceled plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour and a Netflix documentary for the band’s 30th anniversary.
Sources say the ‘nightmare’ feud between Geri and Mel B has left the band unable to find a manager who would be able to ‘mediate’ to help push the projects forward.
The row began when Melanie Brown, 49, confessed she had a lesbian affair with Geri during the band’s Nineties heyday on Piers Morgan’s chat show in 2019.
The Spice Girls were the biggest girl band of the ’90s, but any hopes of reforming since their 2019 tour have been dashed, due to an ugly feud between two members.
Sources say the ‘nightmare’ feud between Geri and Mel B has left the band unable to find a manager who would be able to ‘mediate’ to help push the projects forward.
In the interview, Melanie told Piers that the passionate encounter “just happened” and seemed aware of how Geri, who married Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner in 2015, would take the revelation.
Mel said: ‘She’s going to hate me for this because she’s all posh about her country house and her husband, but it’s a fact. But it was nothing, it just happened and we laughed and that was it.”
‘I’ve said it now. Everything done. She’s going to kill me.’
Geri denied the affair had taken place, and Mel was accused of masterminding it to sell copies of her memoir, Brutally Honest.
A source close to the band said at the time: “It’s not a very nice thing to do even if you have a book to promote.”
‘Nothing ever happened. We all know Mel B loves headlines. It might have been funny 15 or 20 years ago, but it was over the top and it wasn’t funny.”
At the time, Mel’s explosive claims threatened to wreak havoc on the band’s reunion tour.
The row began when Melanie Brown, 49, confessed she had a lesbian affair with Geri during the band’s Nineties heyday on Piers Morgan’s chat show in 2019.
Rehearsals for the sold-out shows began just two weeks after the air date, but the band managed to put in a united performance before the first performance in Dublin on May 24 (pictured).
Rehearsals for the sold-out shows began just two weeks after the air date, but the band managed to put together a united performance before the first performance in Dublin on 24 May.
However, according to inside sources, the episode of ITV’s Life Stories has repercussions to this day, and internal tensions between Geri and Mel are a “red flag” to secure any future projects, including another tour.
Despite pleas from bandmates, Victoria insists she will never perform with them again, according to insiders, as she wants to focus on her fashion brand.
“Managing all five Spice Girls is probably the hardest job in the business, but it’s the fallout between Mel B and Geri that makes the job seem like a nightmare,” a source told Mail On Sunday’s Katie Hind.
“There’s always something going on between them: deep down they love each other, but Geri just can’t understand why Mel had to tell the world about their affair.
‘It’s caused a lot of drama, so they’re fighting.
“The girls are sure they can get great jobs, even at Glastonbury, if they find the right manager, but they can’t.”
Music industry sources say internal tensions are a “red flag”, despite the possibility of any potential candidate making a fortune from gigs (pictured together in 2019).
Music industry sources say internal tensions are a “red flag”, despite the possibility of any potential candidate making a fortune from gigs as the band approaches its 30th anniversary.
It’s a blow to its members, who had hoped to reunite for the milestone, and a primetime spot at next year’s Glastonbury Festival now looks like a pipe dream.
The last time the Spice Girls reunited in a professional capacity was for an iconic performance at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In 2019, the band went on a UK stadium tour, but fashion designer Victoria decided not to join, claiming she was too busy with her clothing brand.
It is said that the Spice Girls do not want their creator, Simon Fuller, to get involved – nor will Modest Management, the company that managed their tour in 2019, join in, and according to sources, they cannot find a manager capable of mediating – or whoever . willing to do it.
Geri is also said to have backed out of a TV adaptation following the band’s meteoric rise to fame.
According to The Sun, Geri, Mel, Mel C, Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton were approached about a drama series that came with a seven-figure payday.
A source said: “You would have seen five actresses taking on the roles of Posh, Ginger, Scary, Sporty and Baby.”
‘The company would have allowed them all to pay settlements of around £1m for essentially not lifting a finger.
But as negotiations intensified, others were told that Geri had objected. Basically, the plans have been scrapped.’
The insider added that without Geri’s agreement, it will be difficult to make the project a reality.
MailOnline has contacted representatives of all five Spice Girls for comment.
Insiders say there has been much more behind-the-scenes innuendo and teasing from Mel which has infuriated Geri, who has had a difficult six months amid allegations of inappropriate behavior from her husband, Formula One boss Christian Horner. , with an assistant.
In August, Christian’s allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female colleague were dismissed after an appeal.
Mel mocked her former friend by wishing her a ‘Happy 75th Birthday’ online alongside a series of unflattering photographs from her heyday – apparently a reference to her previous jibes that Geri had lied about her age in the past.
Mel also claimed in an interview that Geri has lied about her age for years.
Despite traveling the world together in the band’s heyday, Scary Spice claimed Geri always kept her passport close to her chest so she “still doesn’t know” how old she is.
A source said: “They have always had a complicated relationship but now this has become very complicated and no one has been able to smooth things over between them so it’s all bad again.”
Mel B’s representative declined to comment.
Geri was also said to be against the idea of a Netflix documentary. Some believe Geri did not like the scrutiny due to the scandal surrounding her husband Christian Horner, who was acquitted in March.
Plans to commemorate its 30th anniversary with a documentary also fell through.
After the Netflix documentary about Beckham, made by David’s television company, was a hit last year, the Spice Girls began talking to the streamer about the possibility of making a similar all-access show about the group and its phenomenal success.
It would include long interviews with all the ‘girls’ and their families, talking about their experiences of fame and life since their pop heyday.
The idea was to link the documentary to the 30th anniversary of the group’s founding in 1994.
However, although Victoria, Mel B, Mel C and Emma were interested in the documentary after several meetings, Geri was still against the idea and they could not convince her.
This disagreement, certainly not the first in the group, created a bit of a chill between Ginger and the other girls, Alison Boshoff reported.
Some believe Geri did not like the scrutiny due to the scandal surrounding her husband Christian Horner, whose position at the Red Bull F1 team was in jeopardy after an employee alleged he had harassed her.
Christian was cleared in March after an investigation, and the complainant lodged an appeal that was subsequently dismissed in August, exonerating the Red Bull boss for the second time.
A statement from Red Bull confirmed: “The complainant exercised the right of appeal and the appeal was carried out by another independent KC. All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded, with the final result that the appeal is not upheld.
‘The KC’s conclusions have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal process has concluded.”
A source said: “It might have been awkward for Geri to come out and talk about Girl Power in these circumstances surrounding Christian, but in truth, even before everything came to light, she wasn’t interested in revisiting those days. I just didn’t want to go over all the fun and wild times they had.