Mel B Escapes Ex-Husband's Demands For Sensitive Information In His $5 Million Lawsuit

Things are finally looking up for Mel B as she wins her motion to pause the discovery proceedings in her legal battle with her ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte.

The former Spice Girls member has been trading shots with her ex for over 7 years following the end of their tumultuous marriage in 2017. She accused the film producer of physical and emotional abuse, scathing allegations he has repeatedly denied.

Mel B's abuse claims forced her ex-husband to take drastic measures in 2024, and he sued her for $5 million in damages. Stephen Belafonte argued that she insistently spread lies about him for financial gain while ruining his image with a smear campaign.

According to new reports, a judge accepted Mel's motion to stay discovery in her legal drama with Belafonte until a decision was made on her request to dismiss the entire case. She won the small victory on April 3, according to court documents.

In her request, Mel's legal team argued that she should not be forced to accept her ex-husband's demands for sensitive information until a judge reviewed her dismissal motion.

The "America's Got Talent" judge explained Belafonte had sent over a list of documents he wanted to see and questions he needed answers to.

Belafonte's demands included "sensitive financial records dating back eighteen or more years" and Mel's Amazon purchases. He noted the latter must consist of the payments she "made or directed others to make" for the last ten years beginning in 2007, per In Touch.

Belafonte's demands continued with requests for Mel to turn over all communications with third parties related to her allegations. These conversations must include her claims of physical abuse and sexual assault, the same applies to her scathing memoir on their relationship.

Mel's ex-husband demanded she hand over the notes tied to her memoir, the profit and income from the book's sale, and documents linked to her finances from 2007 to 2017.

Belafonte asked Mel to "identify all drugs you took from 2007 to 2017, including illicit drugs, regardless of whether the drugs were prescribed by a doctor." His requests for sensitive information were shut down by Mel's attorney, who argued:

"While proceeding to discovery in this case would occasion significant costs, a temporary stay would produce virtually no harm. The best evidence for that fact is that [Stephen] himself has shown little urgency in either initiating suit or prosecuting the case he brought."

After Belafonte slammed Mel with his false allegation's lawsuit, she refused to back down and insisted she was a victim. Her attorney echoed similar sentiments in their response to her ex-husband's $5 million in damages request, claiming:

"Mel endured Stephen's physical and emotional abuse during their tumultuous decade-long marriage."

Mel's lawyer insisted she "escaped Stephen's all-encompassing grip on her life with the help of the courts" and moved to help others in similar situations. He further explained:

"After the couple divorced in 2017, Mel devoted herself to protecting vulnerable women around the globe using the most powerful tool available to her — the same one that made her a star — her voice."

Last November, The Blast reported Mel tried and failed to get Belafonte sanctioned for his lawsuit. Her attorney argued that his legal move was a "blatant abuse of judicial process," claiming her ex-husband tried to silence her for being vocal about his alleged abuse.

"Displeased with [Mel's] exercise of her constitutionally protected freedoms, [Stephen] filed this baseless SLAPP suit to litigate plainly time-barred matters in a foreign forum that lacks personal jurisdiction over Brown," Mel's legal rep claimed.

Additionally, the attorney saw Belafonte's suit as a threat to the TV personality's constitutionally protected right to speech and expression. Mel's lawyer pushed to have Belafonte's lawsuit dismissed and demanded he cover her legal fees.

The attorney argued that her ex-husband's claims lacked substance and showcased his familiar attempt to control her voice as he allegedly did during their marriage. However, a judge denied the sanction petition, but Mel filed another motion for the verdict's reconsideration.

In his lawsuit, Belafonte and his lawyers argued that Mel intentionally ruined his image to promote her career. He asserted that she "spent the better part of the last decade engaging in a deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him severe emotional distress and destroy his reputation."

"[Mel's] campaign of abuse has continued to the present day with the 2024 re-publication of her best-selling book about her marriage to [Stephen], wherein [Mel] has leveraged her thirty years of fame to attack [Stephen] in a malicious and vindictive global smear," Belafonte's legal rep continued.

The media personality's former partner added that she lied to the court and the public about being a domestic abuse victim to portray him as a "monster" and ensure the sale of her scathing memoir.

Belafonte also implored the court for an injunction to prevent Mel from publicly discussing her memoir or him ever again.

Who will emerge victorious in the legal battle between Mel B and Stephen Belafonte?