Spice Girl Geri Halliwell had some kind words to say about Margaret Thatcher after the former prime minister passed away on Monday, but her comments disappeared shortly after being posted to Twitter.
Halliwell deleted a tweet that read as follows: "Thinking of our 1st Lady of girl power, Margaret Thatcher, a green grocer's daughter who taught me any thing is possible...x." She was then apparently inundated by opponents of Thatcher who lambasted the tweet as ignorant. Halliwell promptly deleted the tweet and followed it up with this one, which is still on her timeline:
After a few days of reflection, the 40-year-old Spice Girl returned to the web with a new message. Naturally, she debuted it on Twitter and directed her fans to her blog:
In the blog post, Halliwell writes that she regrets deleting the tweet because she feels it displayed weakness, the opposite of what she valued in Thatcher. Here are the conclusions Halliwell came to (all spelling original):
I. I was so afraid of upsetting people, and not being liked for saying something that was not to everyone’s taste.
2. Also, I suddenly thought given the adverse reaction, did I even really know enough about Margaret Thatcher? Was I just trying to be relevant? She had obviously upset a lot of people.
3. But now I realise that I do admire a woman, whether she is right or wrong, regardless of her opinions. She had the courage to stand by her convictions. Not like me. I look at my behavior, which exposed how weak I was under fire, not like Margaret Thatcher. Rest in peace.
Halliwell also notes that this isn't the first time her admiration of the Iron Lady has gotten her in trouble. "It was widely covered in the media, when I casually mentioned that I admired Margaret Thatcher in an interview for a political magazine," she writes of a 1996 episode.
The Spice Girls reunited at the London Olympics Opening Ceremony, much to the delight of their fans. Photos from that event are available below.
