Rumours were absolutely FLYING that David Beckham was set to appear in series five of hit BBC show Peaky Blinders, but now our hearts are broken.
The BBC has issued a statement which denies the former footballer's casting, despite the fact that he appeared on the show's set.
The 43-year-old posted an image of himself looking DAPPER AF standing by a painting of Tommy and Arthur Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy and Paul Anderson.
Representatives for the broadcasting organisation BBC have now said: "We are not aware of David Beckham appearing in series five of Peaky Blinders."
The former athlete and current style icon's fashion label Kent & Curwen has unveiled a new collection in collaboration with Peaky Blinders, designed by creative director Daniel Kearns.
The stunning tailored collection includes granddad shirts, flat caps (of course), waist coats, wool overcoats and classic Peaky-inspired peg trousers.
The fifth series of Peaky Blinders currently has no release date, although the next set of episodes are expected this summer. We CANNOT wait.
This comes after summer rumours of Victoria and David having a rocky relationship, but the footballer quickly shut down these speculations.
He ensured fans that their 19-year marriage is stronger than ever.
Victoria also had two other tattoos removed from her wrist – one with the date that she and David renewed their wedding vows and the other a quote to commemorate their family's move to the United States.
On November 29th, Deborah Ross of The Times wrote what can only be described as a SCATHING article about influencers which began like this;
"I have a dream. It is not a big dream. I am not Martin Luther King. I only do dreams on a small scale, so it is a small-scale dream and my small-scale dream is this: might there be any way we could do a find and replace on the word “influencer” so it is replaced by “detestable freeloader” wherever it appears? So we all know what, in fact, we are dealing with."
Yikes. To add to the drama-fest, YouTuber and Blogosphere's Influencer of the Year 2018 Melanie Murphy has responded.
We have to say, Murphy makes some noteworthy points;
Starting off her 13-minute YouTube video with a cool "Okay Deborah, calm down", she proceeds to explain the hypocrisy behind Ross' points with a level of clarity which is hard to deny.
Ross essentially slated influencers in her article, describing them as 'detestable freeloaders', essentially people who deserve to be hated because they receive complimentary items and give nothing in return.
Murphy responds by issuing the point that the media in general is funded by advertising and marketing, for example, on the bottom of Ross' article had a sponsored post, without which the article possibly would never have been read.
Promotion and marketing absolutely surrounds us, from celebrities such as David Beckham for Adidas, Beyoncé for Pepsi, Justin Timberlake for McDonalds, Jessica Simpson for WeightWatchers, Brad Pitt for whatever cologne he's feeling that day, Julia Roberts for Lancôme, Hannah Witton for PlayStation, Holly Willoughby for Marks & Spencer etc etc.
It's inescapable. However, just because they receive free objects doesn't mean that they give nothing in return.
The issue which Murphy takes with Ross' article is the sheer hypocrisy as well as the generalisations which she makes. She places every influencer in the same category, when many of them promote noble causes such as LGBT+ charities and organisations, cruelty-free and paraben-free beauty products, health foods, nutrition, sexual health organisations, disability and accessibility rights, chronic pain activists, and more.
Jameela Jamil's i_Weigh movement has become hugely successful, and empowers people to weigh themselves on their overall worth as a person rather than their body mass index. Jamil suffered from an eating disorder for years, and now uses promotion and Instagram to create a unified group of people who value and respect themselves. She also is a major campaigner for banning airbrushing.
Melanie Murphy claims that every successful creative has the support of brands behind them, and receive freebies. Many of them self-fund their projects, and use the money for other causes, others simply give away any freebies which they receive.
Murphy also points out that just because they gain complimentary products does not mean that those people aren't extremely hardworking. Many influencers balance their life online with their family and a side-job.
"95% of what I show, what I wear, I pay for myself," she claims. Through advertising and word of mouth, companies can use influencers for their branding, but this doesn't undermine the level of thought which goes into choosing which brands to work with.
Murphy works with Always pads to talk openly about periods, Barclays, who sponsor Pride, a show which explores bisexuality, PicMonkey, Wella for hair dyes which work against allergies, Holland and Barrett for cruelty-free health and nutrition products.
Numerous influencers and their agents are hugely picky about who they work with, the brands must make sense for the influencers for them to collaborate with them.
"I'm always so bloody proud of my paid-for content, always. The money these brands pay me enables me to write a novel and work on more artsy things like short films which I invest in myself but don't get money back."
According to the Youtuber, the media wouldn't survive without branding and advertisements. From YouTubeads to websites, podcasts, radio, television, newspapers and magazines, advertising is saturated in our industry.
For Deborah Ross to call followers of influencers 'morons' is entirely unfair, from Melanie's point of view;
"Under-researched drivel such as this which contributes to the negative rhetoric that surrounds bloggers and influencers, thousands of hard-working people. Some of which juggle a family or another job."
Many believe for Ross to declare that influencers have done nothing to merit this lifestyle is flawed and reductive, Murphy herself demonstrates a great engagement because of how she chooses brands to work with;
"I never try sneak anything in, I'm never shady. I am lucky and I'm very grateful, I don't swan around."
Lastly, Murphy places emphasis on the fact that YouTubeis a community which supports one another, they collaborate and shout each other out and lift each other up. In the journalism industry, there is minimal collaboration and no support between competing publications;
"You sit and write and you get aid to do that, there was a time where people would scoff at your job and say that that's not a real job. We actually support each other. You're not going to see The Times supporting an article from another publication."
She describes the loneliness which perpetuates society, and how YouTube can be used as escapism, or for self-help, for comedy, entertainment, advice or even just to connect;
"A lot of people are lonely and it's a beautiful thing to be able to connect with people through words through a lens. Families are smaller, the Church has collapsed, community has gone to shit. I feel like through my monthly blogs I encourage people to connect with their real-life friends and family"
As Murphy points out, building a following of thousands or millions doesn't just happen for no reason.
'Detestable freeloaders' aren't just empty vessels of advertisers; they're entertainers, they're singers, actors, writers, comedians, models, creatives, editors, lighting experts, agents and so much more.
Posh and Becks are one of the the strongest couples in Celeb Land.
However, David has said that the pair aren'timmune to the rials and tribulations that come with trying to make marriage work.
While the media have created headlines and speculation about his relationship for the past twenty years, he admits that he has gotten used to ignoring the bad stuff that is printed.
He said, “I’ve grown to ignore some of the negative stuff that is said.''
Here it is! Our exclusive chat with superstar David Beckham. We talk about parenting, Royal Weddings, his role as a UNICEF ambassador, and much much more! #TheProjectTVpic.twitter.com/YLso3Qjzw8
He continued, ''I think if you know each other well, if you know you’ve got great friends and great family behind you, the thing we have to do is protect our children and we are very proud of the family.”
So what about his nineteen-year union to Posh?
He says that, “marriage is always about hard work. Your children, they want your time and they deserve your time and we are hard working and we feel that is the right way to bring up our children to prove and to show to them you have to work really hard to be successful.''
The 43-year-old continued, ''we have been married for a long time now…you make difficult situations like travelling away, being away from each other, you make it work.”
The couple have four kids; 19-year-old Brooklyn, 16-year-old Romeo, 13-year-old Cruz and seven-year-old Harper.
So what about when it comes to him as a parent?
He gushed, “I’m a softie, I know I’m slightly stricter with the boys than I am with Harper. To be honest, the boys rib me about it all the time, Victoria ribs me about it all the time.”
Cuute.
It looks like one of the most solid relationships in the world of showbiz is as strong as ever, with David saying, '' to be married for the amount of time that we have, it’s always hard work, everybody knows that but you make it work.''
The handsome, young Romeo Beckham turns 16-years-old today, and his parents could not be prouder.
On Thursday, Victoria and David took the family out to dinner to celebrate the occasion, inviting Romeo’s godparents as well – the legendary Elton John and his partner David Furnish.
We wish Romeo the best of birthdays and are so jealous that he has Elton John as a godparent. The 16-year-old is going to have some legendary family stories.
The Beckham family has been vacationing in style, staying in posh hotels with infinity pools and soaking up the Indonesian sun on tropical beaches. #holidaygoals
The family has been staying in the gorgeous country for the past few weeks, and their Instagram posts have been giving us major FOMO.
They are having the time of their lives, learning how to crack coconuts, swimming in an infinity pool, and paddle boarding together.
And Victoria has been sure to document it all for us peasants, constantly posting photos and videos of her children and husband David on her Insta story.
But amidst all the fun and laughter, the Beckhams made sure to set aside time for an important cause that is close to the former Spice Girl's heart.
The family visited young kids at The Sumba Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping underprivileged, Sumbanese children have access to life essentials like clean water and medical treatment.
The foundation also enrols students in classes, giving them the educational tools they will need for their futures, as well as incorporating local culture and traditions into their daily lives.
“Special day with the inspiring students in Sumba. We loved hanging out helping to teach English and play games!” the mum posted.
Charity has always been one of Victoria’s passions.
She is an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS and actively supports Save the Children.
It is nice to see the celebrities not only enjoying their holidays but prioritising charitable endeavours as well.
We are delighted that the children at The Sumba Foundation are getting the support they need and that this celeb family is taking the time to try and brighten their day.
As if we didn't love him enough, David Beckham has proven once again, he isn't just a pretty face. The footballer is Unicef's Goodwill ambassador and of course, is an adoring dad to four children. The star has us swooning and sobbing as he pens the realities of being a dad for Unicef's early childhood development campaign, Early Moments Matter.
Here is the heartwarming letter:
"There are many emotions that run through us when we think about our children. But for me and for the many dads and mums I’ve spoken to about parenting over the years, it comes down to two things – love and fear. It is these emotions that push us to achieve more for our children, every day.
I recently travelled to Indonesia with Unicef, to Semarang in the Central Java Province to see the work of my 7 Fund for Unicef, which is helping the most vulnerable children get the best start in life, by empowering them to speak out, providing them with support, and protecting them from violence so they can unlock their incredible potential.
While I was in Semarang I met with a group of dads and their young children. We sat together, discussing the realities of fatherhood. And this notion of love and fear that takes over when we have kids, rang true in every one of them.
This Early Childhood Development centre in the community is run so that parents and their young children have a place to spend time together and have a safe place to read and play together so I joined in one afternoon.
There is one dad in particular that I won’t forget. Imam, a 31-year-old father of a little boy called Vincent. Imam spent the first year of his son’s life working long days to try and make ends meet. He missed many precious early moments – the moments that often stay in our minds forever. His first laugh, his first words, his first steps,
Imam missed all of these to put food on the table. Focusing on being the main breadwinner was a tough ‘decision’ for him to make and one that left him full of fear. In the brief moments they would spend together, his son didn’t want to be near him. Imam feared that he’d missed his chance to build a special bond with Vincent.
He feared his child would grow up thinking his father didn’t love him, when actually his love is what pushed him to do his best to earn enough to give his child all the things he could ever need.
On the day I met this father and son – whose story I imagine resonates with millions of dads across the world – you’d never guess that there was a day where Vincent didn’t want to be near his dad. He was clambering all over him, pulling at his face, laughing in response to the shapes he was making with dad’s cheeks.
Imam made the hard decision to change and to risk the income he really needed to support his family. He managed to get a new job, and as a result he was able to work less hours and spend more time with his son.
Imam now takes on a much bigger role in parenting – preparing his food, picking out his clothes, getting him bathed and dressed. But the biggest change he tells me about is the fact he now has time to play – one of the most important ways of building a child into who they will become.
In the fathers’ group I also met Ary, a father of two girls whose youngest is the same age as my daughter Harper. He told me about how he copes with his daily frustrations and anxiety.
To cope, Ary told me that when he felt stressed, he would go on a fast bike ride to burn off some steam and to focus his thoughts. Even just a short bike ride would mean that when he arrived back home he would be able to be present and in the right state of mind to spend quality time with his kids.
It really helped me to talk to the group of dads in this way, and I’d encourage more dads to talk and share their experiences. Imam and Ary reminded me of when my kids were small; I didn’t want to miss a second, but of course there were times that I couldn’t be there. I feared they would do something for the first time and I wouldn’t be there to see it.
Just like Imam, I knew that spending as much quality time with my kids as I could, especially when they were young, was the most important thing in the world. And like Ary, I also realised pretty quickly, that there are never enough hours in the day to do all the things we want to do with our kids so as long as we make whatever the time available to us quality time, where we are present, as dads we’re winning.
I know through my work with Unicef that the first 1,000 days of life are the most critical time for a baby’s brain development, and their experiences during this time can have lifelong consequences – good and bad.
We as parents all have an incredible opportunity to shape how our children’s brains develop. But without support, parents will continue to struggle to give their babies the play time, good food, and a whole lot of love they need.
All the fathers that I met spoke of their dreams and aspirations for their children. Every generation wants the next to be better, to have more opportunities and achieve their full potential. But we need to start from the very beginning to make this possible.
I’m still learning new things about fatherhood every day. You never stop learning. I was 24 when I had Brooklyn. Four kids now and nearly 20 years of experience as a father, and you never stop learning.
Victoria and David Beckham were hit with a wave of drama on Saturday, when numerous reports claimed that they were filing for divorce.
The Internet erupted with claims that David had cheated on Victoria, with others reporting that Victoria and David were going to announce their separation this weekend.
However, a representative quickly shut down the speculation. He said, “There is no statement due, no divorce, and a lot of Chinese whispers and fake social media news."
“This is all very bizarre and an embarrassing waste of time,” they added.
Victoria and David have shown a united front since the rumours were spread. The duo attended the Kent and Curwen fashion show on Sunday and looked as happy as ever.
Victoria subtly hit back at the lies about their divorce by sharing a candid shot of her and husband David.
She simply captured the image, “Moment Captured,” along with a heart emoji.
The pair look pretty loved up in the photo where you can see David’s hand placed gently on Victoria’s shoulder. The fashion designer looked extremely content as she held her husband’s hand.
Yesterday, David Beckham celebrated his 43rd birthday with his wife Victoria Beckham, and three of their children, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper.
David and Victoria’s eldest son Brooklyn was missing from the celebrations as he is currently studying photography at private art and design college Parsons School of Design, which is located in Manhattan in New York City.
However, much to David’s delight, his eldest son was actually on a flight from New York to London, and the video of their reunion will leave you in floods of tears.
Jetlag can get the best of us, and it seems that no matter how much you travel, it will catch up with you, one way or another.
For David Beckham, it was a rather amusing Whatsapp message to his mother.
Sharing his mistake on his Instagram, the former footballer explained on his way home from a recent trip to China, the jetlag had caught up with him.
The story post shows the funny blunder and was captioned:
“When you are jet lagged and send your mum the wrong message.”
Beckham accidentally called his mum “hot” when she had checked in to make sure he got home safely.
The message read:
“Hey your hot back this morning we to the country now at […] just going to be soon.”
David’s mum, Sandra West clearly understood her son’s message was down to fatigue and replied: “Looks like your tired by your message as long as your all ok! X”
The famous footballer was in Macau, China for the Special Olympics. Beckham uploaded some sweet snaps to Instagram about his stay and captioned it:
“I am honoured to be supporting such a great organisation and to meet these incredible children.”
After his trip, it looks as if the footballer got straight back into family life as Victoria posted in her Instagram story that ‘daddy’s home’ along with an adorable picture of David in face-paint, courtesy of their youngest child, Harper.
The six-year-old looks to be quite the artist as she got creative with some glitter and paint.
In his first set of photos, the young photographer thanked Mark Mahoney, who is famous in Hollywood for his tattoo parlour called Shamrock Social Club.
He wrote: "Honoured to have my first tattoo done by dads friend Mark Mahoney."
