Geri Halliwell says homophobic terrorist wanted to kill her on Brits stage for being pals with George Michael
Ex Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has disclosed that a homophobic terrorist -- David Copeland -- once threatened to murder her on-stage at the Brits because she was friends with George Michael. The 48-year-old said that though cops informed her about the possible attack and requested to cancel her first solo performance, she refused. The singer said as reported by The Sun, “It was before my first ever performance as a solo artist that he issued me with a death threat. He threatened to shoot me, and hated the fact I hung out with the gays, and was friends with George Michael. He hated me for camping it up, for loving the gays and for being friends with George. I told him to do one.”
Halliwell was friends with the late superstar and after his death on December 25, 2016, she named her young son Montague George, after him. Michael even supported the ‘Wannabe’ singer when she quit the Spice Girls in 1998.
“Scotland Yard were involved, and the police had to come round to my house, to warn me officially. They said they had to give me the freedom to choose whether I performed or not, but that they advised me to pull out of the ceremony. But I said 'I'm sorry, I'm not going to be bullied by this'. We are judged by what we do, not what we say - and I will always stand with my friends. It's about spirit, not sexuality - I feel so protective of any person who has had prejudice against them," she stated.
In 2000, Copeland was awarded six life sentences for three counts of murder and three counts of causing explosions in London. He was involved in causing explosions in Brixton, south London, Brick Lane in east London, and Soho, central London during 13 days in April 1999. The last blast carried out by Copeland took place at the gay pub Admiral Duncan, which took the lives of 27-year-old Andrea Dykes, who was pregnant at the time, and friends John Light, 32, and Nik Moore, 31, from Essex. The terrorist later applied to get his sentencing reduced, but it was refused in 2011.
Halliwell is now happily married to F1 boss Christian Horner. She has also been associated with various charities. The NHS is very close to the mother-of-two’s heart about which she said amid the coronavirus pandemic, “When I was nineteen years old I discovered a lump in my breast. It was a frightening experience, and I was put in a ward with lots of different kinds of women at the Watford general hospital. This is when I first discovered the wonderful NHS, they were kind and reassuring, and held my hand throughout. Thankfully the result was benign - but from that day on, I really felt huge gratitude towards our health system.
“I was then reminded of the brilliant NHS when I had Monty, who is now three; I received great support from a NHS midwife called Tallulah, who was just adorable and hard working. She was very humble and I know she was struggling in life to pay her bills - she hasn’t had a pay rise in seven years. It makes me so sad because I feel like all carers like Tallulah, who work so hard for us, need to be rewarded and cared for.”
The singer also discussed her sartorial choices as she joked, “My wardrobe is like looking at the French Alps - a vast expanse of white,” before adding: “I have gone through stages of wearing all black but then I just thought, well, I quite like cream and white. Then I started buying more and more of it, and if you start buying something in any one colour, it becomes one less thing to think about. I really recommend it to anyone - it's really easy. Everything becomes really simple. I like the colour, and it's like wearing a school uniform as an adult. It matches with everything and I literally don’t have to think in the mornings. It's great for busy people - it kind of looks like you've made an effort when you haven't.”