Brooklyn Beckham delivered a dramatic message about his relationship with his famous family in January, revealing on Instagram that he had walked away from them and was not interested in repairing the rift.
He revisited the family fallout in a DoorDash commercial in June, making a tongue-in-cheek reference to his situation as he said: “You’re probably wondering why I’m watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 from home… It’s a long story.”
Now, as hopes of a reconciliation appeared to be growing, Brooklyn has made another conspicuous move. The chef and entrepreneur has secured an endorsement for his Cloud 23 hot sauce from Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, a former friend of his father David Beckham who later fell out with him.
Wahlberg promoted the sauce on Instagram Stories, showing himself adding it to grilled chicken. Holding the instantly recognisable Cloud 23 bottle toward the camera, he said: “Sweet Jalapeno – my boy Brooklyn!”
Brooklyn launched Cloud 23 in 2024. According to a brand spokesperson last year, the name is “a warm nod” to David Beckham, who wore the number 23 during his spells with Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, as well as to basketball icon Michael Jordan.
The 55-year-old actor is also incorporating the sauce into dishes served at Wahlburgers, the burger chain he launched with his family in 2011. The restaurant brand now has more than 30 locations.
Wahlberg and David Beckham were once close friends and business associates, but their relationship soured after Beckham’s company took legal action against the actor’s fitness business.
Their friendship was once strong enough for the two families to holiday together in the summer of 2022. But their past closeness now stands in sharp contrast to the latest developments, with Wahlberg appearing to show support for Brooklyn.
The Cloud 23 hot sauce name is described as a tribute to Brooklyn’s father, David Beckham
Action star Mark Wahlberg has continued promoting the brand through Instagram Stories
After his father appeared to like a social media post, Brooklyn wore a sweatshirt reading “It’s not clocking to you” – a phrase meaning “you’re not understanding”
Wahlberg’s support carries added significance because he has also been friends with Brooklyn’s billionaire father-in-law, Nelson Peltz, for years. The actor played the father of Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz, in 2014’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction. At the time, he said: “I have known Nicola since she was like 13. I am very good friends with her dad and the rest of the family. She has a really great work ethic.”
By securing the endorsement, 27-year-old Brooklyn once again appears to be aligning himself with the Peltz family rather than his own.
The gesture is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by David, who appeared to make an effort to reconnect with his son this week by liking one of Brooklyn’s Paris Fashion Week posts. Brooklyn did not return the interaction, having blocked his family on Instagram in what has become one of the clearest public signs of their estrangement.
Brooklyn and Nicola attended fashion shows in Paris alongside members of her family. They did not, however, appear at the event hosted by his mother, Victoria Beckham, the previous weekend.
Brooklyn also seemed to address his father’s Instagram activity through his clothing. He was photographed wearing a sweatshirt from Justin Bieber’s fashion label Skylrk bearing the words “It’s not clocking to you,” a phrase associated with a past dispute involving Bieber and a paparazzo. In slang, it means that someone is failing to understand the situation.
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In his January Instagram statement, Brooklyn said he wanted to be left alone and claimed he had found peace away from what he described as his “inauthentic” and “performative” family.
People close to Brooklyn have said he feels “stressful” pressure when his parents mention him online, including through birthday and Christmas messages. It was also previously reported in this column that he had asked his parents to communicate with him only through lawyers.
David Beckham first became friends with Wahlberg while living in Los Angeles. In 2020, he also signed a partnership deal with the actor’s fitness company, F45 Training.
Brooklyn has joined forces with Mark Wahlberg’s Wahlburgers chain to promote Cloud 23, following the reported 2020 fallout between his father David and the actor over a fitness company
Mark Wahlberg with David Beckham before their infamous spat, which took place six years ago
A shot of Mark and David hanging out on a boat with a group of friends
Aspiring chef Brooklyn has used his own hot sauce brand for some of his recipes
A post by Marky Mark praising the product
Mark starred alongside Nicola Peltz, Brooklyn’s wife, in 2014’s Transformers Age Of Extinction
But in October 2022, David sued F45 for a total of $18.8million for breach of contract over the deal, which had seen him become a brand ambassador.
He claimed in the lawsuit that he was not only owed $14.3million in damages, but was also entitled to $4.5million for declaratory relief under his contract with F45.
The dispute centred around stocks which Beckham said he had been promised. It was settled out of court in 2024.
In a statement, Wahlberg’s fitness company said that the lawsuit had been dismissed after they reached a ‘mutual business decision to resolve the matter’. They added: ‘DB Ventures Limited will remain an investor in F45 Training.’
Friends have been taking sides in the fallout between Brooklyn and his parents. Victoria’s fellow Spice Girls are naturally on Team Beckham, as is their old mate Gordon Ramsay, who has had family dramas of his own to contend with.
DJ Fat Tony, who played at Brooklyn and Nicola’s 2022 wedding, is Team Brooklyn.
Sir Elton John, a long-time friend of the couple and Brooklyn’s godfather, is neutral.