Sketchy Things We Ignore About The Spice Girls

The following article includes references to disordered eating.

"No one's buying their records because it's great music," the late Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren told Spin at the height of the Spice Girls' fame. "They're buying the idea of talentless people becoming enormously successful." Ouch! Regardless of what Mr. McLaren may have thought, the Spice Girls were a force to reckon with. When the girl power ensemble first launched onto the pop scene with "Wannabe" in 1996, the impact that they would have over the cultural landscape quickly became apparent. Donning quintessentially cool Britannia attire, complete with epic sneaker platforms and Union Jack mini dresses, the group came to typify the colorful kitsch of the era. Soon enough, they sold out arenas, debuted a series of merch — including a line of $30 dolls — and even released their own movie "Spice World." And, of course, the Spice Girls spawned Posh 'n' Becks (and now, Brooks 'n' Peltz).

Though their message of girl power may have seemed innocuous at the time, a retrospective analysis into the '90s pop culture milieu means that much of the popular media of the decade now appears problematic. From the casual transphobia of "Friends" to Gwen Stefani being accused of cultural appropriation, Gen-Z are all too often horrified when witnessing what passed as acceptable behavior in the' 90s. And as wholesome as the quintet may have appeared, the Spice Girls were not immune to being embroiled in some shady shenanigans. 

Who do you think they are? Let's give the lowdown on sketchy things we ignore about the Spice Girls.

There are innumerable lyrics from classic songs that haven't stood the test of time. From R. Kelly declaring (through his underage then-wife, Aaliyah) that "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" to Eminem's casual homophobia, the '90s and 2000s were rife with problematic lyrics. Unfortunately, the Spice Girls were also guilty of this, with their lyrics having veered into antiquated racism at one point.

With its catchy, salsa-infused rhythm, "Spice Up Your Life" was a colossal hit for the band in 1997. As the group's tween fans danced to the seemingly innocuous track, they were likely unaware of the cringeworthy penmanship in the second verse, which contains references to a "Yellow man in Timbuktu," "kung fu fighting," and a "tribal spaceman." At the time, The Irish Times criticized the band, branding the racist allusions regrettable. Though the track, which features lyrics in various languages, was supposed to be a celebration of diversity, it became quite the opposite, now appearing tone deaf.

Some of the band members have since expressed regret over the offensive overtures. In 2018, it was reported that Melanie C wanted to tweak the lyrics — namely by replacing that first descriptor with "happy people" — in anticipation of the group embarking on their reunion tour, per The Sun. "The reality is it's not acceptable to say that now," a source stated. "Some of the girls feel uncomfortable getting up on stage and performing that lyric, especially when they have such a diverse and multicultural fanbase."

The Spice Girls' rise to superstardom coincided with an end to Conservative rule in the U.K. The Tories, formerly led by Margaret Thatcher for 11 years, were ousted from Number 10 Downing Street when the Iron Lady's successor, John Major, lost catastrophically to young Labour upstart Tony Blair in the 1997 election, per BBC News. A slew of celebs celebrated Blair's victory, with Britpop bad boys Oasis famously partying with the PM following his win. Despite the dawn of a new era, the Spice Girls appeared very much stuck in the past.

Yes, it seems that the Spice Girls wore their Union Jacks on their sleeves (quite literally — lest we forget Geri Halliwell's tank top dress). In a now-infamous interview with conservative outlet The Spectator in 1996, the band were asked for their thoughts on the upcoming general election. Making no secret of her political leanings, Halliwell declared, "We Spice Girls are true Thatcherites. Thatcher was the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology — Girl Power." Both Halliwell and Victoria Beckham went on to express Eurosceptic views. "The Euro bureaucrats are destroying every bit of national identity and individuality," said Beckham, in rhetoric that strongly echoes that of modern day Brexiteers. She also emphasized that the band would "never vote Labour."

iNews heavily criticized the band's remarks, arguing that Thatcher, an opponent of feminism, was far from an empowering figure for girls and young women, having been responsible for implementing legislation that targeted single mothers and LGBTQ+ people.

We can't imagine anyone having the gall to lay a finger on King Charles III, let alone grope the monarch. But back in 1997, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, met the Spice Girls at a gala for the Prince's Trust. Infamously, Geri Halliwell flirted with the royal, kissing him and even grabbing his bottom, per Rolling Stone. "I pinch everyone's bottom," Halliwell told the outlet at the time. "Why am I going to stop at the Prince?" In a cringeworthy admission that would never fly today, Halliwell even described the prince's posterior in graphic detail: "It was like a waterbed. Something to grab hold of." Big yikes. 

Openly admitting to groping people's bodily parts without their consent certainly isn't acceptable now and wasn't acceptable then, but the societal sensibilities of the '90s were very different indeed. To paraphrase Randy Marsh, "It was 1997. Everyone was stoked on groping royals back then." In the documentary "Funniest Royal C**k-Ups" (via Express), it's revealed that Charles felt humiliated by the incident.

However, Halliwell has since backtracked on her past remarks and now claims that she didn't actually grab Charles' bottom. "I didn't pinch Prince Charles's bum, as was reported," she told The Times. "I patted it. Patting him on the bottom was against royal protocol but we're all human." Despite the scandalous breach of royal protocol, Halliwell and Charles remained close, with the former prince offering Ginger his well wishes following her departure from the Spice Girls, per BBC News.

The notion of "girl power" became the rallying cry of the Spice Girls. In the '90s, the slogan was emblazoned in rhinestone across tweens' t-shirts the world over. However, much criticism has been levied at the outwardly empowering feminist message.

The Telegraph argued that, far from being an antidote to sexism, the Spice Girls heavily contributed to it. For instance, Chris Herbert, who was responsible for recruiting the band members, allegedly fired would-be Spice Girl Lianne Morgan for apparently looking too old at the tender age of 23. "It was ironic that they would be shouting 'Girl Power' when [the power behind the band] was a male machine," remarked the journalist Matthew Wright.

Moreover, the band's penchant for sponsorships caused controversy. At the height of their fame, the group had more sponsorships to their name than any other band in history, promoting the likes of Pepsi, the British potato chip brand Walkers, low-cost grocery store Asda, and chocolate brand Cadbury, per Marketing Week. As The New York Times noted, critics called out the Spice Girls for taking on so many endorsements, with such flagrant displays of capitalism seemingly being antithetical to the feminist message of girl power. One such critic, B***h magazine co-founder Andi Zeisler, told the publication that the commodification of girl power was demonstrative "of how feminism and pro-women sentiment was manipulated and weaponized, particularly by the media." Despite this, Zeisler noted the importance of the Spice Girls bringing feminism to the mainstream.