Last summer, Victoria Beckham came under fire for kissing her 5-year-old daughter, Harper, on the lips. Critics and so-called etiquette experts deemed the innocent display of parental love "horrible" and "disgusting", with some desperate trolls even calling it “paedophilia” and labelling the pair – mother and daughter, remember – “lesbians”.
Unfortunately, this tired old row about parental boundaries and kissing your kids on the lips has erupted again, almost a year later – and David Beckham isn't having any of it.
The former England captain and father of four faced a backlash of his own recently after he posted a picture of himself kissing Harper on the lips during a family holiday to Africa. He shared the tender photo on Instagram alongside the caption: "Kiss for Daddy ❤️".
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Predictably, some commenters wanted Beckham to know they believed it was "inappropriate" and "not a good look". “On the lips??? what has the world come to,” someone else asked.
But the 42-year-old has addressed the criticism head-on in a Facebook Live on his official page. Shortly after describing having children as "the most special thing in the world", Beckham revealed he's very affectionate with all of his children and kisses them every day.
“I got actually criticised for kissing my daughter on the lips the other day. I kiss all my kids on the lips," he said. “Brooklyn, maybe not. Brooklyn’s 18, he might find that a little bit strange. But I’m very affectionate with the kids. It’s how I was brought up and Victoria, and it’s how we are with our children.
“We want to show our kids love and we protect them, look after them, and support them, and we’re very affectionate with them.”
The footballing legend also said that if he's away from home he FaceTimes each of them every day "without a doubt" before they go to sleep and before they go to school – regardless of where he is in the world. "Hopefully they're all in the same room, which helps," he added. Parenting goals.