Infamous Podcast: "Beckham vs. Beckham"

Date: February 5, 2026
Host: Campside Media / Sony Music Entertainment – Vanessa Grigoriadis, Gabriel Sherman, Natalie Robehmed
Guest: Lindsay Weber (Who? Weekly podcast)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the very public and deeply personal estrangement between Brooklyn Beckham (son of David and Victoria Beckham) and his famous parents. The hosts, joined by celebrity culture expert Lindsay Weber, explore the tabloid-fueled feud between the Beckhams and Brooklyn’s wife Nicola Peltz, daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz. By examining "Dressgate," family feuding played out in the media, and the rise of going "no-contact" with close relatives, the team investigates questions of fame, parental control, and the dynamics behind family estrangement in the public eye.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing Family Estrangement in the Spotlight (00:40-04:22)

• Why the Topic Matters:
  • Natalie introduces the episode by noting how rare it is to witness family estrangement play out so publicly, especially among the world’s most famous families.
  • The Beckhams: Victoria (Spice Girls, fashion) and David (football, style icon) have been relentlessly covered by the press for decades.
  • Their first son, Brooklyn, was in the media from infancy (“I felt so blessed to be married to David...but it felt really lonely.” – Lindsay Weber [03:25]).
  • Brooklyn has now separated himself, both personally and publicly, from his family.

2. Celebrity Culture – ‘Who’ vs. ‘Them’ (06:04-07:41)

• Who Weekly’s Fame Taxonomy:

  • Lindsay explains:

    "It's a binary to help explain the way that celebrity works now, which is that everybody is famous and no one is famous." [06:04]

  • The difference between household names (“thems”) and lesser-known figures (“whos”) is increasingly blurry in the era of TikTok and niche fame.

• Applying It to this Story:

  • Vanessa sees Brooklyn and Nicola as classic “whos” who’ve become “thems” through this public drama.

3. Who Are Brooklyn Beckham & Nicola Peltz? (07:57-12:25)

• Brooklyn Beckham:

  • “He’s the prince, right? …the ultimate Nepo baby.” – Lindsay Weber [08:23]
  • Childhood in the spotlight, ambiguous career (dabbling in photography and launching a hot sauce line).
  • Laughed about his infamous attempt at wildlife photography (“elephants are hard to photograph. So hard to photograph. But line break. Incredible to see.” – [09:33])

• Nicola Peltz:

  • Actress, director of the indie film “Lola,” but best known for being the daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz.
  • Lindsay: “She’s beautiful and goes to parties.” [10:41]
  • Both come from complex, privileged backgrounds (“being the daughter of a billionaire is gonna stack some chips against you.” – Natalie [11:51])

4. Media Spin, Wedding Tensions & ‘Dressgate’ (16:19-19:57)

• Early Tensions:

  • Rumors swirled from the beginning, fueled by tabloids characterizing Nicola as a possible villain and outsider to the Beckham family.
  • Lindsay: “It was a little bit like this perfect couple coming together and shaking up the Beckham family from the beginning. But it's hard to tell whether that was a media lens or the reality...” [16:34]

• The Wedding Dress Controversy:

  • Central drama: Why didn’t Nicola wear a Victoria Beckham-designed wedding dress? Instead, she wore Valentino.
  • Nicola’s denial of a feud:

    "Victoria was very busy...She said that her atelier couldn't make the dress in time. So then my mom told me and then we regrouped and came up with something else. But I truthfully was really excited to wear her dress." – Nicola Peltz, quoted by Natalie [18:44]

  • Lindsay and the hosts agree it “makes no sense” that Victoria couldn’t produce the dress for her daughter-in-law (“But that is such a diss... that's a diss.” – Vanessa [19:47])

5. Public Feud Escalates: Lawsuits and Leaked Texts (20:00-23:24)

• Wedding Planner Lawsuit:
  • Post-wedding, Nicola’s father sued the wedding planners, bringing to light private, sometimes unflattering texts that painted Nicola as a “bridezilla.”
  • Lindsay: “This is a billionaire and he's mad about $150,000 deposit...all of this shit is coming out in discovery about the wedding. That's when it started to get crazy.” [20:12, 21:19]
  • Vanessa critiques the UK tabloid strategy to tear down “ladies who are just too big for their britches.” [21:41]

6. Social Media Statements & Going No Contact (24:18-27:51)

• Brooklyn Speaks Out:

  • In early 2025, after mounting rumors, Brooklyn posts a lengthy statement on Instagram, read aloud in the episode:

    “Public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first... My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want is peace, privacy, and happiness for us and our future family.” – Brooklyn Beckham (read by Lindsay Weber, 24:18) "The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety..." – Brooklyn [24:33]

  • Allegations include Victoria hijacking his first dance at the wedding and attempts to control his public image and even his legal name.

• Evidence of Estrangement:

  • Absenteeism at family events—Brooklyn skipped David’s 50th birthday in May 2025, confirming suspicions (“The story of him not being there was bigger than the birthday.” – Lindsay Weber [25:09])
  • Brooklyn and Nicola reportedly blocked his family on social media; communication became strictly through lawyers.

7. Media Manipulation on Both Sides (31:09-32:12)

• Both the Beckham and Peltz camps were found to be feeding stories to the media.
  • Lindsay: “You rarely get to see that on the back end. Right. A lot of this felt like, oh, so both sides have been directly communicating with tabloids, and the tabloids are not choosing sides. They're like, we'll take whatever from whoever.” [31:09]
  • Vanessa: “Yeah, they all had their iPhones out and were texting in and talking to like these different reporters on the sly. Yeah, this was like an act family feud that played out through the tabloids.” [32:00]

8. Takeaways: Fame, Control, and New Family Models (32:12-end)

• Lasting Impact of Fame:

  • The Beckhams, as ‘90s figures, remain obsessed with tabloid coverage, perhaps more than modern celebrities (“The Beckhams are such 90s figures that they still care about what's in the tabloids.” – Vanessa [32:30])

• Parental Control and Breaking Away:

  • Comparing Victoria’s “Kris Jenner-like” control to Nicola’s strong influence; both women depicted as exerting power over Brooklyn.

    “It’s not like them, one versus the other, where one is bad and one is good. It's like both are power blocks.” – Lindsay Weber [33:28]

• David Beckham’s Perspective:

  • David, the quiet “peacemaker,” comments:

    "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." – David Beckham via CNBC, read by Natalie [33:43]

• Broader Reflection:

  • Natalie points out a cultural shift around accepting family estrangement; referencing The New Yorker’s 2024 article on going “no contact” and suggesting some see it as healthy or even necessary.
  • For further reading: "The Power of Parting" by Eamon Dolan is recommended [34:19-end].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Public Scrutiny:

  "Perhaps it's only fitting that a family that has lived its entire life in a very public way would also play out its greatest drama in a very public way." – Natalie [23:50]

• On Nepotism:

  "He's the prince, right? ... the ultimate Nepo baby." – Lindsay Weber [08:23]

• On Media Bias:

  "The British tabloids, their plotline over and over and over is it's a lady...who is just too big for her britches, right? And we need to take her down." – Vanessa [21:41]

• On Reading Brooklyn’s Statement:

  "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..." – Brooklyn Beckham, read by Lindsay Weber [24:33]

• On Family Estrangement:

  “There are people who feel that you should be in touch with your parents no matter what. And then others...say it can be much healthier for people to have a life beyond their family relationships.” – Natalie [end]

Important Timestamps

• 00:40 – Introduction to the Beckham family, fame, and estrangement
• 06:04 – Lindsay explains Who Weekly's "who/them" concept
• 08:23 – Discussion of Brooklyn as “the ultimate Nepo baby”
• 16:34 – Early signs of tension between Brooklyn/Nicola and the Beckhams
• 17:37 – "Dressgate" and mother/daughter-in-law drama
• 20:00 – Wedding planner lawsuit and tabloid leaks
• 24:18 – Brooklyn’s open Instagram statement
• 25:09 – Brooklyn skips David's 50th birthday
• 27:03 – Allegations: name rights, first dance hijacking
• 31:09 – Both sides feeding stories to the media
• 33:43 – David Beckham’s statement about parenting
• 34:19 – Recommendations on reading about family estrangement

Tone & Style

The episode is fast-paced, witty, and smart, blending the style of celebrity gossip analysis with deeper questions about fame, control, and family ties. The hosts and guest are at times irreverent, empathetic, and always critical of media narratives—offering both hot takes and room for nuance.

Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This summary offers a clear overview of how the Beckham family’s drama unfolded—highlighting central figures, timelines, behind-the-scenes machinations, and both the pain and absurdity of living a life in the relentless glare of celebrity media. Listeners will get a sense of both the juicy tabloid angles and the underlying human issues of family, boundaries, and the price of perennial fame.