Mel B has insisted she never had an issue with Tesco using her image in an advert, despite publicly calling for the supermarket’s CEO to contact her.
Earlier this week, the Spice Girl shared a snap of the ad in question, which showed her performing on stage, alongside a speech bubble that read: “Stop right now. You get 10% off two big shops a month for £7.99. Thank you very much.”
Alongside the photo, Mel wrote: “Can the CEO OF @tescofood DAVE LEWIS PLEASE CONTACT ME URGENTLY. Thank you.”
After Mel appeared to be less than impressed, Tesco apologised and pulled the ads.
But now the singer has set the record straight, insisting it was all a case of “miscommunication”.
Writing on Instagram, Mel said: “For the record, I just want to let everyone know about my Tesco Clubcard Plus involvement because there has been soo much fuss about it and soo many unfounded rumours.
“There was NEVER any issue about me being unhappy with my image being used and there was NEVER any issue about Tesco being given permission to use the image.”
She continued: “I did this campaign for Women’s Aid to raise awareness and to raise funds. There was a miscommunication between some of the parties dealing with it but luckily Tesco has been amazing.
“Women’s Aid sadly lost funding a few weeks ago which was why I decided to do this campaign. I’m really pleased that Tesco understands how important Women’s Aid is to me, and has agreed to match my fee in donation to the charity.
“This money is a game-changer for them. It will keep their live chat line running for the next six months and all over Christmas. This service literally saves lives. One in four women are affected by domestic violence. I am never going to stop trying to help. Thank you Tesco. @womens_aid @tescofood.”
Hours after Mel’s post went viral, a Tesco spokesperson announced that the supermarket would not be using the ad in future, despite insisting they were authorised to use her image.
They explained: “Here at Tesco we are really big fans of Mel B and were excited to feature her photo in our campaign.
“We had authorisation to use this image, but we’re sorry Mel B is unhappy so we’ve stopped using it.”
