Back in 1998, Mel B decided to buy a mansion in a ritzy area of England as the Spice Girls were dominating the music scene. She was quickly met with racist hate mail, she has revealed.
While chatting with The Sun about her personal experiences with racism, Mel B spoke about the vile messages she got after buying the mansion in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
"The fact I bought it disturbed the whole village. I got not just hate mail but racist hate mail, which was shocking to me," she said. "It said, 'Get out of this village, you don't belong, you can't buy something like this.'"
Mel responded to the hate by intentionally throwing festive soirées.
"It disturbed me," she said of the mail, "but I still threw some great parties there – really loud to disturb the village."
Still, despite her experience, Mel thinks Britain is far more inclusive than other places.
"I think there's been a massive change when it comes to race and culture because we are a little bit more educated," she said. "Some countries are still way behind."
Racism is again at the forefront of many discussions following the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody in Minnesota on May 25. The death has sparked worldwide protests.
For Mel and millions of others, racist experiences are far too common.
"It was really when I went to school that I understood the color of my skin had such an effect on the other kids. All of a sudden I was called all these names I didn't understand," she told the Daily Star.
Even after joining the Spice Girls, she was quickly made to feel different.
"I remember when we first did the video for 'Wannabe,' we had a big styling team and one of the first things they said to me was: 'OK, so we need to straighten your hair,'" she said. "I refused point-blank because my hair was my identity and yes it was different to all the other girls but that was what the Spice Girls were about – celebrating our differences."