"Embarrassing and hurtful" - David Beckham's wife opens up on horror of 'Posh Spice takes it up the a**' chant

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham have candidly discussed their experiences around abuse in a new Netflix documentary called Beckham, following cruel chants once targeted at them. The abuse began after the 1998 World Cup, following David Beckham's red card against Argentina, which led to England's elimination.

Disgruntled football fans soon focused their attention on Victoria, commonly known as Posh Spice, with distasteful chants that left her deeply affected. Recalling the impact of the derogatory chants, Victoria Beckham admitted to feeling a combination of hurt and embarrassment. She revealed (via Daily Star):

"Posh Spice takes it up the a**e! Excuse my language, not very lady-like. 75,000 people were singing that. It’s embarrassing, it’s hurtful."

She continued, revealing the isolation and humiliation she felt during the games:

"I remember sitting down and the lady sitting next to me turning to me, she said ‘do you want a polo?’ She didn’t know what to say! Do I want a polo? What do you say when you’re sat next to someone and 75,000 people say you take it up the a**e! We did not know what to do, it felt like we were drowning.”

David Beckham, meanwhile, revealed a different emotional perspective. The football legend stated that the chants, while painful to hear, especially given that they targeted his family, had the unexpected effect of motivating him:

“As hard as it was looking up to the stands and seeing Victoria, it was the one thing that spurred me on. When fans felt like they could get to me by singing hurtful things about my family, I would score a goal."

It's crucial to note that the chants were not isolated incidents. However, they were a part of a continuum of harassment faced by the Beckhams, which included death threats and even kidnapping threats after the birth of their first son, Brooklyn.

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David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson share contrasting views on fame and marriage

Legendary footballer David Beckham and his former manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, have offered their versions of how they had to deal with Beckham's fame. The former player's rising global celebrity status was fueled in part by his marriage to Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham.

In the docuseries, Sir Ferguson was candid about his views, acknowledging a perceptible shift in Beckham following his marriage and escalating fame (via Daily Star):

"Well he (Beckham) changed, there is no doubt about that. Media attention he was getting and becoming a celebrity was different from what I wanted. Getting David to keep his feet on the ground became more difficult."

Contrary to Ferguson's observations, David Beckham stressed that his primary focus remained football. However, with an awareness that his athletic career would not last forever, he aimed to construct a post-football life:

"I didn't want anything to come in the way of the football but I knew my career was going to end at some point. And I wanted to have a career after football and that ate away at the manager, he just wanted me to be the best footballer I could be and be married to a local girl that wasn't a superstar."

Ferguson's comments are not entirely unexpected considering his critical stance on Beckham's aspirations for fame in his 2013 autobiography.