Melanie Brown has filed a petition in court to legally establish that former boyfriend Eddie Murphy is the father of their daughter Angel and seek sole custody as well as "reasonable" child support from the actor. She was joined at a press conference by her American power lawyer Gloria Allred on Wednesday who confirmed they have had "communication with (Eddie's) attorney, and now we're moving forward."
The singer, also known as Scary Spice, told reporters: "I am here for one reason only - her name is Angel. Angel is my baby and Eddie's. She will always know that she was planned and wanted by both of us, but I want her to know that she has two parents who desire to be responsible for her during her life and who love her so much that they want to be a part of it." Her attorney added that Mel would be happy for Eddie to see his daughter - who was born April 3 - regularly, "like millions of parents do".
A DNA test in June confirmed the Dreamgirls actor was Angel's dad but paternity has not been legally acknowledged as yet - hence the court suit. Eddie, who has five children from his marriage to Nicole Mitchell Murphy, last week became engaged to film producer Tracey Edmonds. He has so far not commented on the birth of Angel or his split with Mel and the former couple now seem to be communicating only through their lawyers.
Ms Allred, who Time magazine describes as "one of the nations most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes" is used to dealing with high profile clients and cases. Author of a book called Fight Back And Win, she had some tough words for Eddie. "Murphy was promising to do the right thing, but to date he has not done the right thing," she says. "He bought a big diamond ring for his new fiancée. It is nice to be generous to others, but what about his own baby?"
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
