If you’re a follower of celebrity news, you won’t have missed last week’s big story. Cruz Beckham (aka 11-year-old son of David and Victoria) has released a charity Christmas single, entitled: ‘If Every Day Was Christmas’. A few people had a few opinions about it…
Caitlin Moran, writing for Celebrity Watch in Friday’s The Times, Times2 wrote:
‘Now, CW doesn’t want to sound fundamentalist, but it is 100 per cent against children becoming famous because it rarely ends well. Let us, for a moment, consider the number of times we have read the sentence: “It was becoming famous, as a child, that really laid the foundations for a subsequently sane, stable, happy and incident-free life.” None times.’
She went on to say that it is often the parent’s duty to crush a child’s dream – ‘”No I’m not letting you release a single, or be on Instagram, or live in a zoo”’ – and concluded that a child in the charts is ‘not entertainment and it shouldn’t be business’; it’s ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
On the same subject, Piers Morgan wrote a piece for The Daily Mail claiming the Beckhams have ‘sold their souls to the commercial devil so many times they’ll soon have gold horns sprouting from their shoulder blades,’ and that ‘a key part of their masterplan has involved cynically exploiting their family’. ‘Not a week goes by without one or all of their four children being used in some way to enhance Brand Beckham,’ he added.
He went on to draw comparisons with Justin Beiber ‘whose story should act as a massive warning sign to Cruz’, before highlighting how both are being represented by the same manager, Scooter Braun.
Others however, such as Olly Murs, have defended the child’s parents’ decision to allow him access to the world of mainstream music. ‘It’s a Christmas song for charity!’ Olly told This Morning. ‘Come on, no. It's a Christmas song for charity. And with parents like David and Victoria, they’ll look after him. He’ll be absolutely fine!’
What to make of it all? Personally, I love the Beckhams and always have. People bang on about Brand Beckham, but I don’t think they look at their life as a brand – more, a family business. Maybe I’m naïve, or underestimating the weight of their PR machine, but I don’t get the feeling every move is dictated by brand guidelines. A lot of it feels quite natural.
I was never more impressed with the Beckhams when they made their eldest son, Brooklyn, work in a café in West London for pocket money. I can’t imagine many multi-millionaire parents encouraging their offspring to do the same. He’s now trying his hand at photography – he shot Burberry’s fragrance campaign earlier this year – and at 16, I think, why not? If he’s got a passion, why not pursue it? He might not be an adult yet, but he’s definitely the age for work experience, and if this is work experience A-list-style, then who am I to object?
Whilst it surprised me when David and Victoria allowed their second son, Romeo, to star as a model in the Burberry Christmas ad campaign of 2014, his modelling career hasn’t subsequently taken off so I haven’t thought much about it since. I actually went to the launch and both Victoria and David were there with Romeo (the three of them shuffled past me at one point – and apologised). They appeared very supportive, not pushy at all. They were also discreet, so much so, some people there had no idea they’d even turned up. Romeo was 12 then. He first modelled at 11. So Cruz’s entrée into the world at fame at a similar age, isn’t exactly going against what they’ve allowed their other children to do.
But this somehow feels different.
Earlier this year, Victoria Beckham uploaded a video to Instagram of Cruz singing a cappella to Twista and Faith Evans’ song, ‘Hopeful’. Shortly after, David Beckham uploaded a similar video, this time of Cruz singing ‘Cups’. It was around this time that I stopped following the Beckhams on Instagram. One parent uploading a video of one of their children doing something adorable, is sweet. The other parent then uploading a similar video, days later, felt like point scoring – trying to cash in on the success of the other parents’ post and gain more likes in the process.
I imagine these two posts had something to do with the idea of Cruz releasing a single. Whether he was approached to do it, or whether the Beckhams were the driving force behind it, we’ll probably never know. But either way, it’s irksome. Because the first video Victoria uploaded seemed like a spontaneous moment of pure maternal appreciation for the cuteness of her son. Now his voice is officially being shared with the world, and I wonder why both Victoria and David – who I believe are excellent parents – aren’t more protective of it.
The next problem I have with this, is the song itself. If Cruz had sung a tune purely about Christmas, I don’t think I’d take such umbrage to it. But he didn’t. Have you heard the lyrics? They go like this: ‘If everyday was Christmas and I can be with you, Underneath the mistletoe, Kiss you when nobody knows’. He’s 11. ELEVEN! In a Skype interview with Capital FM Radio (one of his first ‘ever’), Cruz was asked about the single and he the told presenters: ‘It’s amazing, two of my favourite things: singing and Christmas’. Never at any point did he mention ‘kissing under the mistletoe’ being a favourite thing. Why? Because he’s 11. Surely, a more appropriate song would have been to do with Father Christmas, or opening presents, or arguing with his siblings over the remote. Being desperate to spend Christmas with someone you’d kiss under the mistletoe, sung by an 11-year-old, is wrong. How has more not been made of this?
Secondly, the media attention that’s followed. In the same interview, Cruz wasn’t treated like a musician with an excellent talent. He was treated like a young boy. After telling the trio of presenters about his two favourite things, one presenter laughed and said ‘Aw, so cute!’. If you remember being 11, you’ll remember how being called cute is like someone pulling your hair or pinching you. It’s actually painful. And when Cruz looks back on this in years to come, he’ll realise it’s also patronising.
David was later drafted in to the conversation to show his face and say how proud he was, and then disappeared off camera for the next part of the interview: a game called ‘Mr and Mrs… [there was a pause here, clearly meant so that Capital FM listeners would get that it was a take on the ‘Mr and Mrs’ game often played at drunken hen parties, of which the young Cruz would presumably be oblivious] …Beckham,’ the presenter finally said.
Cruz was then asked a series of questions about which of his parents would be more likely to do things like ‘fall asleep on the sofa’ or ‘say a naughty word’. The whole thing made me sick – using a young boy to gain insider info on his mega famous parents, all under the guise of promoting his Christmas jingle…
But this is what lies ahead for the child if his parents allow him to continue down this path. People will exploit him to make money, get close to his parents or dig up dirt on his family… It’s a dishonest business, fame, and I can’t imagine why the Beckhams would want it for their second youngest child at this age. When he’s old enough to make his own decisions (21+ in my view) fine. But at 11, it seems so warped.
I hope this is a one off. I hope this is a sweet thing he did for charity and we’ll hear no more about it until he’s an adult and perhaps he auditions to join a band just like his mother did, when she was 20, and finds success that way.
But with reports already emerging that Victoria has approached former Pussy Cat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger, to do a duet with her young son, my worry is, it won’t be.
SEE MORE: Watch Victoria Beckham dancing through Times Square