Eddie Murphy just got one whopper of an engagement present from ex-girlfriend Melanie Brown.
Scary Spice has filed a paternity action against the Dreamgirls star over their four-month-old daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown.
The petition, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, seeks to establish Murphy as the legal father. Brown is also asking for sole custody of the child and "reasonable" child support.
"I am here today for one reason and one reason only; her name is Angel," Brown said at a press conference. "Angel is my baby and Eddie's. She will always know that she was planned and wanted by both of us."
Brown filed her claim exactly one week after Murphy proposed to movie producer Tracey Edmonds.
The Spice Girl's sound bite-friendly attorney, Gloria Allred, said the legal showdown was prompted by Murphy's "shocking and appalling conduct since he learned Ms. Brown was pregnant." She issues a four-page statement lambasting Murphy for buying his fiancée "a big diamond ring," while ignoring Angel.
Murphy's publicist, Arnold Robinson, declined to comment on the actor's personal life; his attorney, Scott Robinson, was equally reticent about the paternity filing.
"I am speaking out today because I recognize that there are millions of single mothers and their children who don't have a voice who also wish for the fathers of their children to participate and share the responsibility for their children's lives," Brown said.
"Those children have a right to know their fathers, and I call on those fathers to ignore the poor role model that Eddie has been and set a better example for their children."
Brown and Murphy dated last fall and broke up after she became pregnant. "The relationship was in full swing right at the beginning of my pregnancy," Brown said.But asked about his pending fatherhood by a Dutch TV reporter in December, Murphy responded curtly, saying "We don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test." By that time, he was dating Edmonds, the former wife of Grammy winner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Angel was born Apr. 3—ironically, the same day as Murphy—and Brown listed the actor as the father on the birth certificate. A DNA test in June "established [Murphy's] paternity, but paternity has not been legally acknowledged," said Allred.
After taking the paternity test, Murphy indicated he would support the child if he was the father. "Absolutely. I'll do the right thing," he told reporters.
Angel is the second child for Brown, 32, who has an eight-year-old daughter, Phoenix, from her marriage to dancer Jimmy Guzlar. Murphy, 46, has five children from his marriage to Nicole Mitchell, which ended in divorce in 2005.
"When a star such as Murphy turns his back on his own baby, it sends an unacceptable message to other single fathers around the world," Allred said. "I'm telling you, Mr. Murphy, it's all over...We've seen you in the movies, and now we look forward to seeing you in court."