Abortion Under Duress: Melanie Blatt and Others Speak Out

12.11.2025

In a powerful revelation from the BBC documentary Girlbands Forever, All Saints singer Melanie Blatt has shared the disturbing reality she and fellow bandmate Nicole Appleton faced during the height of their success in the 1990s. Blatt recounts how their manager, upon learning they were pregnant, urged them to have abortions, warning that motherhood would “ruin everything” and mark “the end of the band.”

Blatt resisted the pressure and gave birth to her daughter Lilyella in 1999. Appleton, however, succumbed to the demands of the music industry and underwent an abortion. The emotional toll was devastating. Appleton later described feeling suicidal, saying she was “horrified” and “violated” by the power of an industry that prioritised profit over life.

Her then-partner, singer Robbie Williams, echoed the pain, stating she was “instructed to get rid of our baby” and that the experience “torn him apart.”

This heartbreaking account is not isolated. In her 2023 memoir, Britney Spears revealed she was pressured into an abortion by Justin Timberlake, calling it “one of the most agonising things” she’s ever endured. Her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, also shared on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! that she was urged to abort her baby at 16 but chose life, giving birth to her daughter Maddie.

Artist Tracey Emin has likewise spoken of the trauma following a botched abortion of twins, describing the lingering guilt and physical pain.

These testimonies expose a troubling pattern: women in the spotlight being coerced into sacrificing motherhood for fame. Their courage in speaking out reminds us that every life matters—and that no career should come at the cost of a child.