Mel C reveals that she was bullied by fellow Spice Girls — but friendship never ends

The Spice Girls were all about Girl Power and lifting other girls and women up. So it comes as a shock that Mel C said she was bullied by the Spice Girls. Yet the reason Melanie C (what she goes by today) revealed that information to Attitude magazine was not to gossip about her fellow Spice Girls. Instead, she’s using this story to spread awareness about bullying and how that time in her life influenced her new song, “Version of Me.”

"'Version of Me' is about being bullied," Melanie C said. "About being in a situation as a young adult where I felt bullied and how that has affected me, and molded me in a way."

When asked, Melanie confirmed that this bullying happened when she was better known as Sporty Spice in the Spice Girls. “Yes. I’m not going to name names. But yes,” she said.

But before you get too sad, Melanie also said, "It's been addressed, they were aware of what they'd done. They apologized."

Even though it’s disappointing to find out Mel C was bullied by a Spice Girl (or Girls), she did receive an apology. So rather than focus on the identity of who bullied her or what exactly happened, Melanie used this platform to explain how she wished she had been a stronger person when she was younger and being bullied.

"Now I'm older," she said. "I'm a lot more confident and I will not be shat upon. But when I was younger I let people shit on me. What's done is done but I'd have liked to have been a bit stronger."

Plus, this experience in Mel C’s life is something that she hopes can help others. She explained how people who also have been bullied — or are being bullied — might be able to relate to “Version of Me.”

"Unfortunately, being bullied can really damage people and even when you are stronger and over it, it can still be in the background – undermining you. I hope people will identify with that track."

Lyrics like “This is not your playground / I’m not here for you to shoot me down” and “I won’t be the version of me / The one you think you’re comfortable with” will surely resonate with and maybe inspire people who have been bullied.

And while it’s depressing for fans to think about Sporty being bullied among the Spice Girls, she is able to look back on their massive success from 20 years ago and realize they were living in some pretty extraordinary circumstances at the height of their fame.

"When we were kids we were so hard on each other and so determined to succeed that if anybody fell out of line they were quickly brought back in. That was quite a lot of pressure to live under."

As Mel C has seemed to accept what happened between her and her bandmate(s), so must Spice Girls fans. And based on her comments — and the fact that the Spice Girls reunited for a tour in 2007 and again for the 2012 Olympics in London — Melanie C doesn’t appear to hold any grudges against the Spice Girls.

In August 2016, Mel C wrote in Love magazine about why she wouldn’t be reuniting with the Spice Girls for a reunion tour. (Victoria Beckham had already declined.) She ended her beautifully-written essay with an honest statement of what the Spice Girls’ friendship is like:

"We're constantly reminded of our famous line from 'Wannabe' – friendship never ends. There will always be hurdles with friendship. I love the girls dearly. We have a very unique bond that will never be broken and I will continue to support them all as much as I can."

See? Girl Power still exists despite the things that happened in the past.