Mel B has been forced to defend herself after being accused of lightening her skin in a new photo. The 42-year-old singer posed in a bikini on Instagram, flaunting her abs and toned figure in the tiny two-piece. Sharing the photo from her Spice Girls shrine, Mel wrote: "Yes this is my spice shrine, yes I'm in a bikini, yes I'm 42." The pop star later added in her comments section: "Yes and I do need a tan."
The mother-of-three was jokingly responding to some followers who claimed she had lightened her skin. One fan asked, "Why bleaching the skin though?" while a second wrote: "Why do you look so light?" Another commented: "Is this airbrushed? Looking very light." However, the majority of Mel's fans were quick to praise the singer. "You're beautiful whether you've had a tan or been in the sun or not. You're a natural beauty," one follower replied, while a second agreed: "You look exquisite. A timeless beauty."
Mel B looked sensational in her bikini
Mel has never looked or felt better since splitting from her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte. The America's Got Talent judge recently unveiled her glamorous new look to mark the New Year. Again taking to Instagram, Mel showed off her sleek ombre tresses, which were lengthened and beautifully curled. In the cryptic caption, she quoted Nina Simone's song Feeling Good. Her post read: "It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new hair. It's a new life. For meeeeeeee yasssss and I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good."
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The singer unveiled a new look after New Year
The star's divorce was finalised in December 2017. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Mel would pay $200,000 (around £148,000) in legal fees and that both parties would split the proceeds from the sale of the businesses they started during their marriage. In the divorce hearing, it was also revealed that Mel and Stephen would share custody of their six-year-old daughter Madison.