Bathed in the glow of an evening sunset, David Beckham looked every inch the proud father as he raised a glass of white wine beside his son Brooklyn. The loved-up holiday snap was intended as a touching tribute to his son on Father’s Day.
“He is just a loving dad doing what loving dads do,” one pal tells me. But 5,000 miles away in Los Angeles, it’s fair to say the feeling was not reciprocated. In fact, some fear the seemingly innocuous post has the potential to spark a new, increasingly bitter front in the Beckham family feud.
Insiders say how David’s constant posting of pictures of Brooklyn as a child is “because he can’t accept Brooklyn is an adult”. Says a source in the Peltz camp: “This is the problem – they can’t tolerate that he is no longer a child – and not controlled by them.”
But this is a characterisation firmly dismissed by David’s friends. A pal said: “They try and find division, and controversy, in the smallest of things. How can a picture cause such offence…its madness.”
Friends of Brooklyn and his wife Nicola have always been quick to tell me they find such outpourings of love by David as “performative”. It’s an adjective they clearly like to roll out. Just last week Brooklyn’s PR team issued an extraordinary statement accusing the Beckhams of setting up paparazzi shots of Harper arriving at Brooklyn’s house.
There are many who feel Brooklyn’s camp misjudged that particular situation, and friends of the Beckhams agree. “That was cruel,” said one. “It’s just a girl who misses her brother desperately.”
However Brooklyn’s camp are adamant he’s made “crystal clear” his thoughts in the past about his parents’ social media activity, which includes sending a legal letter in the summer of 2025, urging them to cease direct contact.
The existence of the letter emerged around the time David posted a similar black-and white snap of Brooklyn as a child. A source familiar with the situation claims the letter was a “last resort” and arose only after his “requests to stop” had gone ignored.
“It had been leading to issues with his mental health… it was to protect himself,” a source told me previously. The pal told me that “although it might seem minor”, Brooklyn would go online and “get the fear” about what would await him.
“It was really triggering not least as his parents have an enormous social media presence, and every interaction is amplified,” the friend told me . He has since blocked his parents online. But friends of the Beckhams say they will not stop posting pics of their children, although it’s telling they no longer tag or mention him by name anymore.
“It’s a totally natural and normal thing to do…how could anyone suggest any ulterior motive,” says a friend. They know that a reconciliation is a long way off at present – especially with Nicola in the picture – but are still hopeful one day that peace will break out. “They can but hope,” says one insider. “They will always be waiting in the wings should things change.”
But there is no sign of any breakthrough currently, especially after their estranged son popped up in a campaign for delivery service DoorDash that appeared to make light of the family rift.
In the ad, Brooklyn says to the camera: “You’re probably wondering why I’m watching the Fifa World Cup 2026 from home…”
Smirking Brooklyn then laughs: “It’s a long story.”
There are some who worry that Brooklyn could seek to continue to cash in on the feud. A source said: “If he was prepared to do the DoorDash advert, then anything is possible. Remember that this was a man who said that he wanted to move on with his life and for us to accept his privacy. So all bets are very much off.” Insiders say that part of the problem is the fact that the feud is “the only thing they are really known for.” Says a source: “It’s not as if Nicola’s film career has taken off….or Brooklyn’s various endeavours. It’s a very sad state of affairs.”
David and Victoria are said to increasingly feel they are watching major developments in their son’s life unfold from afar, with a pal describing it as living on “scraps of information”. They said: “They hear fragments about what Brooklyn is getting up to… but it’s practically impossible. They worry – as they have from the beginning – that he is being isolated. There is the occasional text to the grandparents but that’s about it.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
