Katherine Jenkins says David Beckham has never apologised for criticising her OBE earlier this year.
The footballer sent an email about the Welsh opera star which emerged on the internet as part of the Beckileaks scandal last February.
Beckham — apparently angry at not getting an honour himself — wrote to an adviser: “Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F***ing joke.”
Now the Neath-born mezzo soprano has revealed for the first time the hurt and anger over his comments and lack of apology.
She told The Sun newspaper: “You’re just minding your own business and you get caught up in this massive storm. You just think, ‘Aw, I wasn’t doing anything’. To get caught up in that wasn’t pleasant. I don’t know why, again, that was aimed at me.
“I also don’t feel the need to defend this, by the way. I know what I’ve done and when I got the OBE it was given to me for music, and for charity.”
Earlier in December, Katherine spoke of her upset on hearing that former co-star Alfie Boe had defaced a poster of her with a vile swear word.
Katherine, 38, was presented with an OBE at Buckingham Palace in 2014, after flying to war zones to entertain troops and fundraising for charities.
The singer added that although she was disappointed by Beckham’s comments she has not tried to contact him about them and has more important things to think about.
“It’s obviously disappointing. I’ve never heard anything from them about it,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter. Priorities are my kids, my family, my singing, my charities and that’s just, white noise in the background.”
The comments followed an episode six years ago when the singer was forced to deny an affair with Victoria Beckham’s husband.
After being hounded by trolls for months on social media, Katherine wrote: “Dear Twitter friends, I’ve read some horrible rumours on here & want u 2 know I absolutely deny I’ve had an affair with David Beckham. The rumours are very hurtful, untrue & my lawyers tell me actionable.”
Beckham’s references to “coke” in the email was a reference to the singing star admitting to taking illegal drugs in the past, including cocaine, ecstasy and MDMA, until she was 23.
“I felt like I had to be honest, that was the thing,” she told The Sun,
“I look back and I think it was the right thing to do and I definitely don’t regret talking about it. I think it was something that needed to be addressed.”
She says she has also spent the last few months thinking about the #MeToo movement after experiencing harassment herself.
Speaking about it for the first time, the singer revealed the male executive involved, who she won’t name, did not work in classical music but another part of the media.
She said her Welsh roots helped her be strong.
“I’m Welsh and we sort of just get on with it and process it at some point,” she said.
“It wasn’t a terrible, terrible one. I can identify with what some of the people were sharing.
“I’m actually grateful that the situation I was in, I didn’t actually need that person. I was already having my career, so I already felt very strong and empowered and on my own path.”
Speaking about being mum to daughter Aaliyah, three and seven-month old son Xander she said motherhood has made her “chilled out” .
Katherine, whose father died of cancer when she was only 15, said her priorities changed after meeting husband Andrew Levitas, 41.
She also spoke about suggestions she is a diva, suggestions which have dogged her her entire career, though she has been nothing but lovely on the several occasions she has visited the WalesOnline newsroom.
“It is funny, isn’t it?” Katherine said.
“I don’t know if it’s because of the type of music I sing that people expect that larger-than-life character and they want to imagine you’re a diva.
