Mel B Says She Refused to Straighten Her Hair for Spice Girls 'Wannabe' Music Video: 'I Love My Curls'
"My hair has always been a personal statement," the singer wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post for World Afro Day
Mel B/Instagram, Ray Burmiston/Avalon/Getty
Mel B.Melanie "Mel B" Brown is opening up about her hair journey.
The 49-year-old Spice Girls alum penned a heartfelt Instagram post about being proud of her "big wild curly hair," despite the pressure to straighten it during her pop star days.
"The very first video shoot I did as a Spice Girl for 'Wannabe,' the stylists took one look at my hair and told me it had to be straightened," she wrote in the caption alongside a photo of her in a plaid top. "My big hair didn't fit the pop star mould. But I stood my ground — backed by my girls — and I sang and danced as me with my big hair, my brown skin and I was totally proud of who I was."
In the 1996 video for the hit song, Brown, who was known in the group as "Scary Spice," wore a lime green cropped tank top and patterned pants, her signature dark curly hair on display.
Tim Roney/Getty
Mel B in 1996"I had no idea the impact that video had on thousands of little brown and black girls all over the country," Brown continued in the post, which was made in honor of World Afro Day on Sept. 10. "Women still come up to me to this day and tell me they stopped straightening their hair."
Related: Mel B Accepts Honorary Doctorate in a Custom Leopard-Print Graduation Gown, and It's So Scary Spice
The singer also recalled being bullied for her hair as a child, saying that she was "singled out" for being "different."
"But it was my hair and I wasn't going to change it — for anyone," she said.
Brown later reflected on the significance of her curly hair as it relates to her daughters.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
"I have three children with big curly hair and all of them take pride in their their hair, their identity and their culture," she said. "I also know that sometimes they have faced issues with their hair — as I did. We are who we are and no one should try to discriminate or change us."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Brown welcomed her first child, daughter Phoenix, with the dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1999. Her second daughter, Angel, was born in 2007. (She shares Angel with her ex Eddie Murphy.) Four years later, the singer's third daughter Madison was born to Brown and her then-husband Stephen Belafonte.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.