Brooklyn Beckham's 'exploitative' World Cup advert mocking his parents could be the 'beginning of the end' for his brand and ends any hope of family reunion, PR experts say

By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 11:34, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 11:52, 16 June 2026 Brooklyn Beckham may have killed his own brand after appearing to joke about the rift with his parents in a car crash and ‘exploitative’ World Cup advert. One of the UK's leading PR experts said the 27-year-old’s Instagram post will leave companies ‘aghast’ and all but end any chance of a reconciliation with David and Victoria. Andy Barr, Head of Brand Communications at Season One Comms, said: ‘This could well be the beginning of the end for Brand Brooklyn. 'Brands will look on aghast at the negative public reaction to how he has used his family feud in this way and will want to steer clear.’ He added: ‘The negative impact will be two-fold. Most importantly, it makes any form of positive family reunion incredibly hard to see. It will also start to affect his wallet.’ Brooklyn, 27, smirks in a sponsored social media video and says: ‘You're probably wondering why I'm watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 from home... It's a long story.’ The food delivery firm he is promoting, DoorDash, shared it with the teasing caption: ‘We have a guess.’ It came days after his mother and father popped up with Tom Cruise at the tournament in Los Angeles. The Daily Mail has revealed how his parents are ‘devastated’. His sister Harper and grandparents are also said to be ‘inconsolable’, after he appeared to joke about the family rift while cashing in on the World Cup, friends said. The video has sparked a backlash online, with comments now limited for some Instagram users. One fan wrote: ‘If you hate them so much drop the name and stop profiting from association.’ Mr Barr said: ‘DoorDash may have enjoyed a spike in brand mentions because of this, but will now be nervous that longer-term brand recall could become associated with something negative and exploitative of a truly sad family situation. ‘Victoria and David are up there with the A-list elite, both in consumers’ hearts and, more importantly, in brand deal terms. Throughout all of this the pair have acted with the kind of dignity and compassion you would expect from globally renowned superstars.’ The eldest Beckham son, 27, was seen smirking in sponsored video as he said: 'You're probably wondering why I'm watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 from home... It's a long story' The advert hinted at 'more soon' - but one expert predicted that the company may pull the plug Friends of David and Victoria Beckham hit back at Brooklyn's 'shocking' sponsored post as the family are left 'inconsolable' by public feud Mr Barr said: 'DoorDash may have enjoyed a spike in brand mentions because of this, but will now be nervous that longer‑term brand recall could become associated with something negative and exploitative of a truly sad family situation. ‘Victoria and David are up there with the A‑list elite, both in consumers’ hearts and, more importantly, in brand deal terms.  'Throughout all of this the pair have acted with the kind of dignity and compassion you would expect from globally renowned superstars.’ The Daily Mail can reveal that friends of the Beckhams have been taken aback by the latest move amid their public feud, which has left the family devastated.  A friend of the Beckhams told Katie Hind: 'To do an advert based on estrangement from family as if it’s a joke when his family is devastated and his sister and grandparents are inconsolable is shocking. 'Especially from someone who claims he wants peace and privacy.' In Brooklyn's scathing six-page statement denouncing his parents in January, he hit out at 'Brand Beckham' and accused his family of valuing 'public promotion and endorsements above all else'. He added: 'All we want is peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.' However, as his latest clip comes to a close, a message reads: 'It's complicated. More soon,' hinting that there will be more cryptic ads to follow. Meanwhile, Brooklyn has been hit with a backlash from his followers on Instagram. While Brooklyn smirked in the advert, the joke didn't appear to land well with fans as they took to the comments section and accused the star of disrespecting his parents. One wrote: 'You knew what you was [sic] doing with this commercial; Am I the only one who finds the irony in him doing this ad?'; 'Desperate; This is so disturbing; Cliff hanger,' another commented. Another fan noticed the intentionally placed items on the table as they added: 'The watch and camera' alongside laughing emojis. Brooklyn has been hit with so much backlash from his followers on Instagram who lambasted him for his advert. For some users comments on the post have been limited Brooklyn is set to cash in on his deal with DoorDash, despite already having an individual net worth of £7.4million. In the post sponsored by the delivery firm, he seems to relish the opportunity to hit back at his family, with the video containing a number of seemingly hidden messages. While Brooklyn has been wearing the £250,000 Patek Philippe Nautilus watch gifted to him by his father, who played in three World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006, he shakes off this association by pointedly placing a new one on his coffee table. And there was a stack of unopened letters from home – perhaps a nod to his refusal to make contact with his family. Only on Friday, his sister Harper, 14, went to his Beverly Hills home to deliver a handwritten note but was crestfallen when she discovered he wasn't home. Shortly after his sister's appearance at the home Brooklyn shares with his wife Nicola Peltz, 31, their camp accused the Beckhams of 'using Harper as a pawn'. Friends of David and Victoria have hit back at the 'nasty accusation levelled at an innocent young girl' from their estranged son, 27. However, representatives for Brooklyn and Nicola insisted the circumstances surrounding the visit raised serious questions. They told the Daily Mail: '[The fact] that photographers were in place as the letter was hand delivered says it all – this was choreographed for the cameras.' In response, friends close to Victoria and David have said: 'It is incredibly sad that this horrible accusation is being levelled at an innocent young girl who just desperately misses her brother. 'Nothing needed to be said at all so to invent this nasty accusation is really unnecessary.' On Friday, Brooklyn's sister Harper, 14, went to his Beverly Hills home to deliver a handwritten note but was crestfallen when she discovered he wasn't home They have also claimed that Brooklyn hasn't accepted any contact from Harper or his grandparents since the falling out. Following Harper's visit, it later emerged that Brooklyn, 27, was not even in California at the time. Instead, the aspiring chef and media personality shared an Instagram story showing himself out for a run in New York City, making it clear that he was on the opposite side of the country when his younger sister arrived at his front door. Harper had been in LA, alongside her brothers Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 21, to watch their father be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. David's new plaque has taken pride of place at the centre of Hollywood Boulevard, just over five miles from Brooklyn's home. The former England captain appeared determined to avoid discussing the family fallout during interviews ahead of the ceremony. Asked what toll months of headlines surrounding the feud had taken on him, he replied: 'To be honest, I'm sorry to stop you there, but that's a private matter. That's the one thing that I don't want to talk about.' The Beckhams have been embroiled in an increasingly acrimonious dispute with Brooklyn and Nicola for months, with relations said to have deteriorated dramatically after the couple failed to attend David's 50th birthday celebrations in May 2025. In January, Brooklyn released a scathing six-page statement (below) announcing he had cut ties with his family – declaring he was no longer part of 'Brand Beckham' and insisting his parents and their other children are 'performative'. Shortly before Christmas last year, Brooklyn blocked his parents on Instagram, while Brooklyn and Nicola's lawyers later wrote to the Beckhams' legal team requesting that all communication be conducted through legal representatives. The aspiring chef and media personality shared an Instagram story showing himself out for a run in New York City, making it clear that he was on the opposite side of the country when his younger sister arrived at his front door Cruz and Romeo Beckham have publicly vouched for their sister Harper (pictured with Cruz) after their brother Brooklyn accused the family of 'choreographing' her visit to his house Romeo showed public support for his sister, 14, as he branded her his 'favourite person ever' and shared a sweet selfie of them together on Instagram  Brooklyn also claimed David and Victoria had controlled him for much of his life, attempted to drive a wedge between him and Nicola and left him embarrassed when his mother danced 'inappropriately' with him during the first dance at his wedding. Victoria has previously spoken about the challenges of parenting older children while under intense scrutiny. Speaking about all four of her children, she said: 'Being a parent of young adult children and adult children, gosh, I mean, it's very different from having little children. 'I think that we're trying to do the best we can,' she said, adding that the negative press in recent months had not affected her fashion and beauty empire. 'I think that ultimately people are buying my product because the product is really good. I don't think they're buying my eyeliner just because it's me.' Cruz and Romeo publicly vouched for their sister on Sunday after Brooklyn accused the family of 'choreographing' her visit to his house. Romeo showed support for his sister as he branded her his 'favourite person ever' and shared a sweet selfie of them together on Instagram. He flashed a smile while wearing a Brazil jacket from his own label Intra, cuddled up next to his beloved sibling, who was pulling a playful expression. Cruz's girlfriend Jackie, 30, also revealed they had spent quality time with his younger sister during their trip stateside after the snub. The group headed out for a seafood dinner at The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach, before grabbing ice cream cones for dessert. They also hung out another day on the trip, as they picked up Erewhon smoothies in one sweet selfie of Jackie and Harper together. She had captioned the selection of snaps: 'LA - OC!! Core memory weekend. We obviously went looking for Summer and Seth.' Both Cruz and Victoria, 52, shared comments under the post, posting a string of red heart emojis. Brooklyn was last pictured with his family during Christmas 2024, and by May 2025 it was clear a feud had formed after Brooklyn failed to acknowledge either of his parents' birthdays and snubbed David's 50th. He accused his parents of trying to ruin his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz and said his mother danced 'inappropriately' on him during his 2022 nuptials to the billionaire heiress.  He also claimed that Victoria 'cancelled' plans to make Nicola's gown at the last minute, 'forcing her to urgently find a new dress'.  Brooklyn hit out at his father, as he said he was in the UK to attend David's 50th celebrations, but claimed repeated requests to see him beforehand were ignored and 'when he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn't invited'.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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