Posh didn’t want to perform with the Spice Girls at the Olympics, was ‘lone holdout’


When the Spice Girls announced late last month that there would be a new musical based on their songs (none of them will actually be in it, but their music will be), Victoria Beckham stood apart from the rest of her former bandmates and looked visibly pissed off. I guess that’s just her default look, but it was still funny to me. You can see the video of this over at D-Listed. During the announcement Victoria stands to the side, dressed in black, barely talks and looks down a lot. As Michael K at D-Listed writes, she looks like an “emo goth teen.” When Posh finally talks, some of the other girls, especially Sporty and Scary, look like they’re trying to ignore her. So it definitely looks like there’s some bad blood there and like Posh is less than enthusiastic about any kind of reunion.

According to a new article in Radar, Posh didn’t want to perform with The Spice Girls at the Olympics, but when she heard that they were going to go on without her she caved. I believe this.

The Spice Girls were prepared to perform without fellow band member, Victoria Beckham at the Closing Ceremony for the London Olympics, because David Beckham’s wife had told the group she was just too busy with her fashion label and taking care of her four children, but when she learned that the band would perform without her she had a change of heart, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

“Danny Boyle (producer of the opening & closing ceremony for the London Olympics) had been trying to get the Spice Girls to perform for over a year and a half,” a source close to the band tells Radar. “He felt that there was no way London could host the Olympics and not have the Spice Girls perform. They hold the record for the most popular all female band in history and are a really important part of the British music scene.

“The lone holdout during the entire negotiation process leading up to the Games had been Victoria. Victoria said her schedule just wouldn’t permit it because of commitments with her fashion line and her duties of being a mother, including daughter, Harper, who just turned one year old. The ladies decided they would perform without Victoria because they felt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to play for a worldwide audience at the Olympics. Once Victoria learned of their plans she was able to juggle her schedule to allow her to perform too.”

The Spice Girls wowed viewers of the closing ceremony and the ladies performed a medley of their 90’s hits, and all looked fantastic in their outfits that represented their persona with the band. Posh Spice wore a revealing black gown that showed off her gorgeous gams, and Mel B, Scary Spice wore a form fitting glitter bodysuit, which complimented her toned physique.

[From Radar Online]

This reminds me of how Robbie Williams didn’t want to join the Take That reunion, and then got depressed (allegedly) when their comeback without him was so successful in 2007. It’s like Posh knows that it’s going to be fun without her, but she can’t bring herself to do it and go back there. Did she think they weren’t going to go on without her, though? Was that her original game plan? She seems to have been on board ultimately, as she tweeted a lot of messages about how much fun she had. Personally I love going to reunions. Like even if I wasn’t friends with everyone all of that fades away when you’re partying and talking about the good old days.

Also, I wanted to talk about the lip syncing situation at the Olympics. You could tell that they were lip syncing most of the time, although some artists seem to have sung live. The Spice Girls were definitely lip syncing, but they did it to a track that was recorded live, which gave it a lot more authenticity. That was clever.

Look at these photos from Mel B’s Twitter. Posh never smiles but you can tell her face is trying to crack into one:

Photo credit: WENN.com

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75 Responses to “Posh didn’t want to perform with the Spice Girls at the Olympics, was ‘lone holdout’”

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  1. marie says:

    To me, her clothes aren’t that great and Spice Girls is a part of who she is-so it seemed dumb to say no..

    • Canda says:

      Yes the Spice Girls are cheesy, Vicky, but they made you who you are, and you never would have met your husband, had all those kids, or been given the opportunities of fame that you have now and been able to start this “fashion label” that you so haughtily use as a scapegoat for anything Spice-related. Get off your high horse and appreciate where you came from and the people who helped you get there.

      • annieanne says:

        Seriously?
        David Beckham was one of the two or three major forces behind getting the Olympics to London. Does it make any kind of sense that his wife was going to blow off an appearance? Pretty sure that would have caused a few issues at home.

    • yak says:

      She’s pissed because she thinks the Spice Girls are now beneath her. She seems ashamed. Plus, she can’t sing for squat – the other girls had halfway decent voices – so she probably feels like a fraud.

      • F5 says:

        McKayla Marone looks like young Posh. And non of them are impressed -_-

      • Annie says:

        Actually I always thought Geri was the one who couldn’t sing for squat. Sporty and Scary have the best voices though.

  2. Eleonor says:

    I think Victoria IS pissed with any kind of Spice reunion, because now she has this fashion icon image she has worked so hard to achieve, and joining the Spice can remind to the world her pop trashy (a bit) beginning. She has made the last-minute decision to control the possibly pr damage if the girl performed without her. My opinion.

    • iloveretro says:

      + 1

      Totally agree.

    • Eve says:

      She’s committed to (maybe, someday) being in Anna Wintour’s good graces, so she doesn’t want to do anything that could potentially harm her chances.

    • MaiGirl says:

      I totally agree, except that Vicky needs to stop straddling the fence. It wouldn’t look good if she wasn’t there, but being the high-fashion, pose-hard, malnourished, sourpuss of the group isn’t great, either. Everyone else looked exuberant and gave it their all; even though only 2/5 of them can sort of sing, and their music is pretty light and nonsensical, I always liked how hard they seemed to be working and how happy they seemed to be there, wherever they were. I like Posh–she seems genuine, I like some of her fashion line, and she loves her family–but she takes herself too seriously when it comes to her former Spice Life.

      • mooshi says:

        I might be wrong with this one, but I’ll throw it out there.

        Doesnt each Spice Girl have their own on stage “personality”?

        Given she is “Posh”, her movements fit her character. And she looked like she was moving to the right to get in formation for when they lined up.

        I don’t remember her doing a lot of dancing back in the day.

        Hmmm, I need to look at some of their old videos.

    • Jane says:

      She would have looked like an arrogant idiot if she hadn’t joined the rest of the group. After all, it is the Olympics and it was taking place in her homeland, the homeland that made her famous. Whatever her real reason for not wanting to do it initially, she needed to acknowledge that England was acknowledging her as part of their pop culture and be gracious about it.

      • Belle says:

        Sorry, but I think she looked like an arrogant idiot anyway. Yes, she did it but she didn’t look happy about it AT ALL. It was forced and awkward… almost makes her seem like even more of a bitch than she would have seemed if she hadn’t done it at all!

  3. brin says:

    Diva Power!

  4. Amelia says:

    She’s really the only one who didn’t *need* the musical or the reunion. Whatever you think of her clothes, there’s no denying she’s now successful in her own right, despite whatever platforms she may or may not have used to get there.
    The other 4 have all but faded into obscurity – I think there was a recent solo attempt by one of the Mel’s, one of them tried to write a kids book, one of them was on an ice skating panel 0_o
    So my two pence, whatever it’s worth, is that ol’ Posh didn’t want to continually drag up the past and milk it for what it’s worth.

    • Turtle Dove says:

      +1

      She was considered the weak link in the band, but now SHE’S the successful one. They needed her not the other way around.

      I don’t think that Victoria is a dwell on the past kind of person. She’s got a lot on her plate atm, why would she need the Spice Girls?

      • Chris says:

        Please tell me you’re kidding when you say that. She’s known for 2 things: being the least talented Spice Girl, and being married to Beckham. He’s the most famous soccer player in the world (notice I said “most famous”, not the best) – Americans don’t fully grasp just how famous and popular this guy is around the world, or just how much attention she gets from being his wife.

        Simply being David Beckham’s wife has kept her in the brightest limelight in the UK and elsewhere all these years. But for that, she would be every bit the has-been the rest of the Spice Girls are. Without the last name “Beckham” she has no fashion line, etc., which is why she looked the other way when he had that cheating scandal a few years back. She knew full well that if she left, her fame disappears with it.

        The other girls didn’t “need” her, which is why they were willing to do the show without her participation – they wanted her there to complete the group, which makes sense. she only changed her mind about “performing” because she knew she’d get roasted in the press for refusing to join them. All that crap about her busy schedule is nonsense. She has all the time in the world. She just didn’t want to do it, at least until she realized they would go on without her.

      • brincalhona says:

        I want photographic evidence of this having a lot on her plate that you speak of.

  5. Natasha says:

    She looked miserable performing up there. Then again, she might have just been trying not to fall off the roof of that car. All I could think watching her was that she would be happier if the Spice Girls never happened, which is ironic because they are the whole reason for her fame.

    • RTR_Girl says:

      I agree…the whole time I was watching her, I was thinking “She is scared to death that she is about to fall off that car.” I think she was more focused on keeping a firm grip on that bar than performing. Not that I blame her, b\c that would have been a nasty fall.

    • GoodCapon says:

      That drive around the stadium was insane… it looked like one of them was about to fall off the roof of the car any second!

  6. mata says:

    I can’t really blame her. She’s moved on.

  7. postaldog says:

    What cracks me up is that if you watch the Spice Girls movie (which really isn’t all that bad, imho) Posh comes across as kind of fun and even engaging-girly like. She’s so full of herself now, for no justifiable reason. I’m not surprised that the other girls did not hesitate to go on without her.

  8. Diva says:

    She needs to get over herself. Most people don’t even know she is a “designer”. They know her as Posh Spice or David Beckham’s wife. She is the female version of Justin Timberlake.

    • Katija says:

      She is TOTALLY the T-Lake. It’s like, dude, great on becoming a serious actor and all that, but those of us in our twenties are NOT going to forget that you were the little one with the bad white boy dreads.

    • HME says:

      Except that *NSYNC can’t function without JT (him and JC were the singers and the other 3 were basically just glorified backup singers/dancers) but the Spice Girls can EASILY function without Posh. She’s the weakest singer by far and she basically just stands there posing and looking thin. I’d go to see a Spice Girls show without Posh. If the other 4 want to go on without her I think they should and she should let them with her blessing. They carried on without Ginger they should be able to carry on without Posh.

      • Diva says:

        I love Justin’s music and Nsync’s. I hate that he is always talking badly about that era though. It’s tacky. If there was no Nsync there’d be no JT. Him pretending to be an actor is annoying. I agree they don’t need Posh. I think its kind of interesting that even though Ginger left them high and dry for a while they other girls seem way closer to her than Vicky.

  9. Black Pearl says:

    Can someone please post the link to the spice girl’s performance @ the Olympics? 10ks

  10. Blake says:

    Don’t even care – I love this bitch.

  11. RHONYC says:

    i love the Spice Girls and was jumping and dancing like a maniac during their performance (my man thought i was a lunatic)!

    i also love Vicki Becks…Posh was always my fave. i’m just glad she reconsidered. the SG are so fun & exuberant. now she wont go down in history (at least in my mind, lol) as C*nty Spice.

    GIRL POW-AH! 😉

    • babythastarsshinebrite says:

      Exactly. People who can have fun are more likable.

    • Mr. Stinky FishFace says:

      Hahaha me too! My husband was liked “Are you kidding me~!”

      it was so much fun to see them all together again and even if it took a little squabbling for it to happen, the response of the fans has shown them it was worth it.

  12. Bubbling says:

    Naturally, cause she is the only one doing sth at present moment

  13. Mar says:

    The Spice Girls are a total joke-she probably does not want to be associated with such craptastic stuff

  14. paola says:

    In my opinion the Spice Girls sounded like screaming monkeys last night, my ears are still bleeding.
    The only one who can actually sing is Mel C..i have to admit i like Mel B bubbly personality but all the others seem pretty lame to me, VB seemed ashamed of being there and it seemed like she couldn’t wait for the gig to finish..such a shame cause david Beckham was a massive supporter of the Olympics. i hoe she can bare to smile in her private life but she seems pretty miserable to me, all the time.

    • LAK says:

      There are some docs of her behind the scenes for various things over the years. she’s very smiley and jokey in her everyday life….at least that’s the impression one gets. People who have met her at events say the same.

      She simply doesn’t like to smile in public. It’s part of her ‘image persona’ that she’s developed over time. There are plenty of pics of her smiling/laughing in public doing promotional events during the Spice girls hey day.

  15. Str8Shooter says:

    Then why the hell did she even agree to go, is the question??? Geez, if you’re THAT miserable about the thing that made you famous, then stay home!

  16. Jaded says:

    Here’s someone with all the money in the world, fame, fortune, career, kids, Beckham for a husband, and it all started with being a Spice Girl. So get over yourself and suck it up for England girlfriend, don’t forget your roots and make the effort for your country. Anna Wintour will never put you on American Vogue, face up to it and get on with your life.

    Oh, and while you’re at it stop with the ‘Posh Pose’ and crack a f*ckin’ smile once in a while, you always look pissed off and constipated.

    • Veruca says:

      That’s not constipation. That’s the backed-up gas she suffers due to the large intestine that collapsed from lack of use.

  17. lucy2 says:

    My guess – it was fun to think she was above it and feel like they were all counting on her, but when they were like eh, whatever, she changed her mind.

  18. dorothy says:

    She always has a constipated look on her face. Smile.

    • Scarlet Vixen says:

      She’s actually said in interviews that she doesn’t like how she looks when she smiles and is insecure about it–that’s why she doesn’t smile. I’m the same way, so I make a particular effort to not do a big, gummy smile in pictures.

  19. RHONYC says:

    also…i really, really hoped that Ginger/Geri would’ve rocked a red wig for old times sake. 😕

    they all looked fantastic, especially as they’re all mommies now.

    Sporty/Mel C. cracks my up in that pic with her tongue out. so crazy! 😆

  20. Katija says:

    The 90s kid in me is still shocked that Victoria Adams is such a huge star. Back in the day she was the forgettable one.

  21. Katija says:

    Gotta respectfully disagree. Even if the music doesn’t age well with time, they were a massive, massive, MASSIVE phenomenon. Bigger than Britney or any of the early 00s boy bands combined. I don’t want to hit that nerve by comparing them to the “B” band… but honestly, their music was nowhere near as good, but they WERE just as huge.

    I don’t mean this in a condescending way, so forgive me if I’m off the mark, but are you in the 16-21 range? I could see how younger people wouldn’t “get” the hugeness of the Spice Girls.

  22. princesslizabeth says:

    She’s one of the most annoying people on the planet. Ick!

  23. Tanya says:

    ouch…! she has to stuff her massive bunions into stilletos….no wonder she never smiles!

  24. Christina says:

    I read somewhere that the only reason she consented to appear was when the organisers agreed to feature her ‘fashion house’ in the fashion section. And did you notice that the cameras focussed on her much less than on the other four? No surprise really, because she had her obligatory sour face and looked as though performing at the world’s biggest event was some kind of hardship.

    ‘Posh’ needs to get over herself. She’s a person of minimal talent, not even particularly pretty – and yet is now worth tens of millions and is married to one of the world’s most desired men. Fair play to her, she has shown the media savvy to make something out of nothing, but seriously, Posh, pretending to design boring frocks doesn’t make you above it all. At the end of the day, you’re a girl band ‘singer’ who got lucky.

  25. CatJ says:

    And, if she is embarrassed about her teeth, maybe she could use some of her millions to fix her smile. I loved seeing all the girls, but I really focussed on Vick’s to see if she would at least smile and pretend she was having some fun and glad to be there. Not so much,,,, it looked like she had to “get it over with”. I also heard the organizers caved to some outrageous diva demands for her. It’s just clothing, Victoria…

    • Christina says:

      I don’t think it’s her teeth – they could be easily fixed. You do see other celebs who are rarely photographed with toothy smiles – like Diane Kruger – but they don’t go around looking miserable and supercilious all the time.

      I reckon it’s more that VB thinks that a permanent pout will somehow make her look chic and sophisticated. As if! And worse than that awful sucking-on-a-lemon face is that contrived, hand-on-the-hip model girl pose. There was a photo of her with the other Spice Girls, they were all smiling, with their arms around one another. ‘Posh’ was standing to the side, sulking and posing, as though she were doing everyone a favour merely by being there. I really wish the other Spice Girls and the Olympic organisers had told her and her pretendy ‘fashion house’ to stuff it.

  26. Alexis says:

    I was surprised she agreed with it too. But if she hadn’t…people would have been more upset with her than otherwise.

  27. spiderpig says:

    what was the point of their performance, knowing it was so highly anticipated by so many? Their bit was over so fast, my fart afterglow lasts longer than that did. They didnt even sing a full bloody song. They just did the damn choruses, lost their balance on the twirling taxis & effed off. What was the point?

  28. TG says:

    I wonder if it isn’t so much Victoria thinking the Spice Girls are beneath her and wanting to forget that part of her life but more her being embarrassed by the desparate attempts of her former bandmates to hold on to any kind of fame. I mean Posh has a super successful and famous hubby, she has her own fashion line that seems to be doing real well and the others? What are they doing? They seem so desparate for attention. I mean didn’t Mel B have a reality show for awhile? Also, I should say that I completely missed out on the Spice Girl era. I am in my mid-thirties and have never heard one of their songs. The only reason I know they exist is because everyone talks about them. I guess they were popular at a time when I had no TV and didn’t listen to music since I probably wasn’t driving too much.

  29. Aria says:

    When Spice Girls broke through, Ginger was my favourite but Victoria, not Posh Spice persona, grew on me. She’s my favourite now.

  30. Catlady says:

    She looks fantastic and has great legs, but what a shame she had to put on the dour expression. I hereby dub her “Crabulous!”:

  31. Beutimous says:

    I grew up during their height and had my bedroom covered in their posters and still love them, watching them perform again was so amazing I was in my room dancing around like I was a kid lol

    Usually I like VB but looking back on it it seems so sad that she couldn’t even PRETEND to have fun or even have ONE drink with the other girls who had the time of their lives and respected the fans.
    Victoria doesn’t respect or appreciate where she came from, without the Spice Girls she wouldn’t have her husband, children or fashion line and I’m certain 90% of HER money is from the Spice Girls not her fashion line.
    Which bring me to the people saying the other girls NEED the band while VB doesn’t, none of them want to reform as a band… they all have many many millions of pounds in the bank and Mel C and Emma have their own careers in singing / theatre and radio presenting. They may not make as much as VB but they make more than a lot of people. Wanting to reform every once in a while to tour or do a musical is not grasping and VB shows herself up looking so snobby about it…

  32. The Original Mia says:

    Not going to bash her for this. She might have felt hesitant to do it, but she did anyway and seemed to have a good time with the rest of the group. She has moved on and sometimes it’s hard to go back.

  33. Reece says:

    I’m still trying to figure out what kind of shoes Mel C was wearing.

    • mooshi says:

      Do you remember “Scary Spice’s” platform heels?

      Those were fabulous back in the day.

  34. Me Too says:

    Like someone else said, the “she didn’t need this because she’s more successful than the other…” line is bull. She has name recognition and a “fashion line” only because she’s Mrs. Beckham and because she was a Spice Girl. I have to say, I simply don’t get why she’s so famous or popular as I’ve never seen her smile. She’s supposedly a nice person. For her kids’ sake, I hope so. The pics of her publicly make her look like a spoiled rotten brat! I think it’s funny she was forced to change her mind. Go Spice Girls!

    • Jaded says:

      Totally agree. She owes her former band members some form of respect, and the honour of being asked to perform at the closing ceremony of the Olympics isn’t a crappy gig, it’s massive. I think she’s just got her Posh nose shoved so far up her fashion designer ass that it’s hard for her to remember the bandmates and fans that made them rich and famous to begin with.

  35. mooshi says:

    They have aged beautifully. They all looked in top shape.

    Ohhh I am so delightfully jealous! Good for all of them.

  36. stop the madness says:

    I’m glad she went through with this. The Spice Girls weren’t perfect singers, but they were fun!

  37. mayamae says:

    By no means am I defending Victoria Beckham, and I am only addressing her lack of smiling in photos.

    She’s aware that she looks like a “miserable cow” (her words) in photos. I am no Posh but I happen to be unphotogenic and get so tired of posing and smiling in pics that are disappointing. I tend to do the same closed mouth semi-smile thing.

    I enjoyed the Spice Girls performance and didn’t really notice any tension or awkward moments – of course I wasn’t looking for them either.

  38. DANDILION says:

    The last time she hooked up with them they constantly complained, were jealous and criticized her as much as they could afterwards.. she didn’t bother to respond, acted classy.. doesn’t owe them anything really. She was the star on their performance again.. and oh how they still hate her..

  39. LondonLady says:

    danny boyle didn’t have anything to do with the closing ceremony, was organised by a regular musical director

  40. erika says:

    I LOVED them…I was ‘Hot n’ SPICY’ back in the days of the Spice Girls 🙂

  41. Jill says:

    she’s more like somber spice. Morbid spice. Lethargic spice. Nonchalant spice. Ambiguous spice. Bitter spice. I think I am better than all you b&*tches spice. lol Everyone else was having fun and she always looks like she belongs in a cemetery.

  42. Amelia says:

    Singing atop a moving vehicle…that could give me vertigo.