VARIOUS: Spice Girl hits Eddie Murphy with paternity suit

Spice Girl Melanie Brown filed a paternity suit on Wednesday (August 1) against actor Eddie Murphy asking for child support for her 3-month-old daughter. "I am here today for one reason and one reason only -- her name is Angel. Angel is my baby and Eddie's,'' Brown said at a press conference. "She will always know that she was planned and wanted by the both of us." Gloria Allred, Brown's lawyer, said the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. It seeks to legally establish paternity and asks for unspecified child support. "I am speaking out today because I recognize that there are millions of single mothers and their children who don't have a voice who also wish for the fathers of their children to participate and share the responsibility for their children's lives,'' said the singer, who was known as "Scary Spice" during her tenure with the British girl-band. "Those children have a right to know their fathers and I call on those fathers to ignore the poor role model that Eddie has been and set a better example for their children.'' A DNA test in June confirmed that Murphy, 46, is the father of Brown's baby, Angel Iris Murphy Brown. The couple dated last year, and Brown listed Murphy as the father on the child's birth certificate. But the "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Dreamgirls" star has never publicly acknowledged paternity. "Mr. Murphy should understand that the real dreamgirl is Angel Iris Murphy-Brown," said Allred. "He is no longer just an actor in a movie. I'm telling you Mr. Murphy, it's all over. It's time to stop 'steppin to the bad side' and start remembering family. We've seen you in the movies and now we look forward to seeing you in court.'' Celebrity magazines reported this week that Murphy had become engaged to his girlfriend of 10 months, Tracey Edmonds. Murphy has five children from his first marriage to Nicole Mitchell, which ended in divorce in April 2006. Murphy's spokesman Arnold Robinson declined to comment on the paternity lawsuit or his reported engagement. The Spice Girls announced in June they would be reuniting for a world tour starting in December.

ITN Source | August 9, 2007

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