Mel B defends meeting with Murphy's ex

Melanie Brown has denied claims that her lunch date with Eddie Murphy's ex-wife was a publicity stunt.

The Spice Girl was spotted at the Ivy in Beverly Hills with Nicole Mitchell, who brought along her five-year-old daughter Bella Zahra, earlier this month.

Brown split from Eddie in December last year, and gave birth to his daughter Angel Iris in April. The singer has insisted that she wants Angel to get to know the children that Eddie had with Nicole.

"My whole thing is that I want Angel to know her brothers and sisters. And that's important to me and it's important to Nicole," Mel told US chat show host Larry King. "And she's a great woman, by the way. She's lovely."