Mel B’s former ‘manny’ has revealed how he felt compelled to tell a judge about the star’s drink and drugs demons after witnessing her cruelly bully her 11-year-old daughter and flaunt a string of strange men in front of her two young children.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV Rusty Updegraff also claims the America’s Got Talent judge would leave town for ten days at a time and not once call her children while she was away.
Rusty – who cared for Brown’s children for nine months – says witnessing the obvious emotional impact her behavior was having on Angel, 11, Madison, seven, and even Phoenix, 19, was difficult and ultimately spurred him to act.
His bombshell deposition filed in court on August 31 led to a judge ruling the former Spice Girl had a drink and drug addiction – and ordering her to undergo four months of regular medical tests.
DailyMailTV can reveal that the judge has since ordered that Mel must have a ‘responsible’ adult with her during overnight stays with Madison – the daughter she shares with ex husband Stephen Belafonte – and if she takes the child out of the US she could lose custody.
Mel B’s former ‘manny’ has revealed how he felt compelled to tell a judge about the star’s drink and drugs demons after witnessing her cruelly bully her 11-year-old daughter Angel (right) and flaunt a string of strange men in front of Angel and her youngest child Madison, seven (left)
DailyMailTV can reveal that the judge has since ordered Mel to have a ‘responsible’ adult with her during overnight stays with Madison (bottom left) – the daughter she shares with ex husband Stephen Belafonte – and if she takes the child out of the US she could lose custody
Mel posed naked with hairdresser and BFF Gary Madatyan, who was also naked, in a swimming pool and posted the provocative photos on Instagram. Rusty said Angel saw the post and said: ‘Oh my God, Mommy’s naked, what is she doing?’
In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, Rusty Updegraff claims the America’s Got Talent judge would leave town for ten days at a time and not call her children. He says seeing the emotional impact her behavior was having on Angel and even Phoenix, 19, spurred him to act
Judge Mark Juhas imposed the strict regulations while he works out what to do over long term custody with her ex Belafonte.
The order says Mel can, ‘hire an acceptable nanny from a registered and bonded agency’ to satisfy the requirement, but there must be someone ‘present’ so that the star is not left alone with her child unsupervised.
Restaurateur Rusty says he is pleased with the outcome and it was never his intention to push for Mel to lose custody of her children.
‘I did the job, you know, because it’s about the kids, not about her,’ he said.
‘Those girls love their mom and Melanie loves the girls, but Melanie desperately needs help.
‘I want her to be clean and healthy, because when she’s healthy she can be a mom again. Right now she’s the world’s worst mom.’
Recalling the worst incidents at Mel’s Hollywood home he said the pop singer would down tequila and spark blazing rows with daughter Angel, with Madison in earshot.
And during the shouting matches the America’s Got Talent judge would often hit out at sports mad Angel calling her a ‘stinky b**ch’ for refusing to wear deodorant.
He recalls: ‘Angel’s a tomboy, she doesn’t like to shower, she’s at that age, so Mel nicknames her smelly b***h, she’s like, ‘you want to be a smelly b***h? Everybody will call you smelly b***h’ and she’d just keep going.
‘I pleaded with her, ”please don’t say that to your daughter”. She responded: ”Why? She is a smelly b***h… she stinks.”
‘Angel is 11 years old, that’s going to stay with her, I know because my dad was like that…it just creates these insecurities in children as they get older.’
Rusty claims that the singer cruelly bullied her 11-year-old daughter Angel (pictured together), calling her a ‘stinky b**ch’ for refusing to wear deodorant
Updegraff filed the bombshell deposition in regards to the America’s Got Talent judge after witnessing her behavior while he was looking after her young children for nine months
Recalling the worst incidents at Mel’s Hollywood home he said the pop singer would down tequila and spark blazing rows with daughter Angel, with Madison in earshot. Pictured: Mel B with Angel (left), Madison (center) and Phoenix, 19, (right) on Mother’s Day
Updegraff shared texts messages he received from Mel B’s best friend Charlotte, who tried to stage an intervention with the singer, which lists her numerous partners
The screenshots Updegraff provided also reveal an enormous tower of tequila boxes stockpiled in Mel B’s home
On another occasion one of the star’s Instagram posts got the attention of Angel.
Mel posed naked with hairdresser and BFF Gary Madatyan, who was also naked, in a swimming pool and posted the provocative photos on her social media feed.
Rusty, 60, recalls the shocking moment Mel’s daughter spotted the post.
‘We were in Palm Springs and Mel had been drinking. I was on my last nerve and Mel had been on a roll in LA before she even went to Palm Springs.
‘Then Angel saw an Instagram post of Melanie naked with Gary her hairdresser and she’s like, ”Oh my God, Mommy’s naked, what is she doing?”
‘And I’m like, Oh God, how do I explain this one, then she comments that Mommy has the worst grammar, which was cute, but it’s sad.
‘Angel was embarrassed that Mommy had done this. Mel’s kids are seeing her Instagram, Angel is 11 but her mind isn’t developed, it’s truly sad.’
And in more concerning behavior Rusty says Mel would regularly go away from home on work trips for seven or ten days at a time but she never once called her children to check they were okay.
‘I mean, who does that,’ said Rusty.
Rusty says he was spending so much time with the two girls that he quickly became ‘attached’ and found caring for them ‘so rewarding’.
‘They’re so funny and so interesting, they ask a million questions, they’re great,’ he said. ‘Madison is, I swear to God, she’s a TV personality and she doesn’t understand why she’s funny.
He continued: ‘And I’m like, Oh God, how do I explain this one, then she comments that Mommy has the worst grammar, which was cute, but it’s sad’
Updegraff said he thought Madison (pictured with Mel at a filming of America’s Got Talent) was about to be molested by one of her male friends, as the man allegedly tried to take the little girl into the shower to ‘clean’ her
‘And Angel, brilliant. She’s kind of to herself, but a brilliant writer, artist and creative person. She loves sports and loves to sing.
‘One night her grandma was there, Melanie was at work and she came down, she was doing her homework and we started talking to her about it and she had written a story which was great.
‘And she was so excited that we were reading her story that she ran upstairs and brought down a box full of stories that she’s written.
‘And this is why I think it’s sad. Melanie had no clue about this until I told her. Like, how do you not know?’
Rusty says he acted as a ‘buffer’ between Mel and her girls so they didn’t witness some her of worst behavior.
‘They want to know why there’s a naked man in Mommy’s room or who was that guy in the kitchen with his shirt off,’ he said.
‘I tried to answer their questions as best I could.’
Rusty says Mel’s sex life got out of control and he worried about the children being exposed to different strange men.
‘There was like three guys in a day and I’m talking five hour sessions with each one because the guy goes, you know, I talked to the guys and they’re like, I can’t go anymore.
‘And then another guy would come in and another guy. There was the waiter from Soho House, the guy she ran into at the car wash, there was the piano teacher, a guy nicknamed Frenchie, another French guy, then there was the artist guy, and you have to remember they were on rotation too.
‘There were men coming over to her house at all hours, who are virtual strangers, and they are around the children. I am worried she doesn’t know these guys.’
Rusty says he acted as a ‘buffer’ between Mel and her girls so they didn’t witness some her of worst behavior
Mel and Stephen divorced in December last year, but have continued to fight over custody of their two youngest children, Angel Murphy Brown (pictured left) 11, (Mel’s daughter by Eddie Murphy) and Madison Belafonte
The doting dad, 43, and his youngest daughter bonding – just a few days after Belafonte was granted temporary custody
Having been molested as a child Rusty says he knows all too well how something shocking can happen quickly.
‘It makes me so angry; hand on heart I honestly thought that Madison was potentially going to be molested by one of her man friends,’ he said.
‘He wanted to clean her in the shower after they went swimming when Mel left the house.
‘What man thinks it is okay to take a six-year-old girl, not his child, into a shower, and I thought that is wrong.
‘Had I not been there that day, I dread to think what would have happened.’
Things got so bad that Rusty claims Mel’s mother Andrea, sister Danielle and best friend Charlotte flew in to LA in April to carry out an intervention due to her excessive drinking.
Unfortunately the action didn’t go down too well with Brown.
‘When they came over Mel spent one whole day ignoring them, upstairs having sex with an actor at the house, with the stereo blazing. That pushed things to the edge,’ he recalls. ‘They all had blazing rows.’
He continued: ‘Mel would drink so much at the house and pass out, so if there was an emergency I dread to think what would happen with the kids.
‘I am really concerned about those kids, who I grew very close to during my nine months.
‘When I was there they were protected, but the kids cannot look after themselves – and Mel is not focused on them. At times I felt her vagina mattered more than the children.
‘She left them often, without proper supervision, so something serious could’ve happened.
‘Those kids are in jeopardy and I had to act before something disastrous happened.’
Rusty says he now wants Mel to seek professional and believes she needs to get rid of the ‘enablers’ who she pays to be around her
A judge ruled that Mel is to be subjected to random drug and alcohol tests for four months – after a bombshell declaration claimed she has been abusing drugs and alcohol while in the custody of her young children
Last month when Mel revealed she was heading for rehab for PTSD, she admitted she was struggling to deal with her emotions – which lead her to seek solace in booze and sex. Pictured: Mel with daughters Phoenix, Madison, Giselle Belafonte and Angel in March
Rusty claims Mel branded him a disgruntled former employee and even told friends that he has embezzled money and lied.
He says she has also accused him of colluding with her ex Belafonte to try to have the children taken off her, a claim he also denies.
‘Stephen is not paying me, he’s not my friend, I don’t even know him,’ Rusty wants to make clear.
‘I didn’t even like him, I was the one who told her to stay away from him years ago and she kicked me to the curb.’
He added that he also has no interest in fame.
‘I am not doing this for fame, what kind of fame is this? I didn’t have to do this, but I love those children and want the best for them,’ he explained.
Last month when Mel revealed she was heading for rehab for PTSD, she admitted she was struggling to deal with her emotions – which lead her to seek solace in booze and sex.
Mel revealed: ‘Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol – it is underneath all that.
‘I am fully aware I have been at a crisis point. No one knows myself better than I do – but I am dealing with it.’
But Rusty insists Mel blaming her drinking problem on PTSD is complete nonsense.
‘I met Mel years ago, in 2002, so saying that this is all caused by PTSD is crazy because she was this way before she met Stephen and I was there when she met Stephen,’ he said.
‘She was partying hard back then, but today it has just escalated.’
Rusty says he now wants Mel to seek professional and believes she needs to get rid of the ‘enablers’ who she pays to be around her.
‘She needs stability in her life and real friends.’ he said, adding: ‘I love those kids. And I felt like I was part of that family. And that’s it. You know, if you’re not gonna think of your children first, I am.
‘Mel doesn’t think of her kids first. A mother is selfless, but she’s not, she’s selfish. And that’s the difference.’