Furious Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins hits back at David Beckham after his alleged hacked emails branded her OBE award a 'f****** joke' 

  • David Beckham allegedly wrote email after Katherine Jenkins was given an OBE
  • Ms Jenkins received the award in 2014 and Beckham allegedly said it was a 'joke'
  • She has hit back and defended her award for her services to music and charity

By Abe Hawken For Mailonline

Published: 18:27 EST, 5 February 2017 | Updated: 18:45 EST, 5 February 2017

Katherine Jenkins (pictured) has defended her OBE award after David Beckham allegedly branded it a 'f****** joke' 

Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins has hit back at former England football captain David Beckham after he allegedly branded her OBE award a 'f****** joke'.

The songwriter, 36, has rubbished his alleged comment - discovered after emails were hacked - and defended her award.

She was given an OBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for her services to music and charity. 

Her manager, Professor Jonathan Shalit, told Dan Wootton at The Sun, that she deserved her award for her charity work and music career.

It comes after Beckham allegedly wrote an email to his PR manager, Simon Oliveira, indicating his fury that Ms Jenkins had been handed an OBE after he missed out on the knighthood.

Beckham, who played for Manchester United and Real Madrid, received an OBE in 2003 and is reported to have sent an email lambasting the decision to give Ms Jenkins one a decade later.   

In it, he allegedly wrote: 'Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F****** joke.'

Professor Shalit told the newspaper: 'I say Katherine was awarded an OBE for her services to music and charity.

'With regards to the taking of coke which Katherine has courageously publicly admitted with great honesty — this was when she was in her early 20s still studying, over a decade before she was awarded her OBE and started her recording career.'

He also highlighted the fact she visited British troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Kosovo between 2005 and 2013.   

Prof Shalit added that she went on to become the 'world's most prolific crossover artist' after selling more than 10million CDs.

Beckham (left and right, with his wife Victoria) received an OBE in 2003 and he allegedly wrote an email after Jenkins was awarded hers in 2014

Ms Jenkins had previously admitted that her life was almost ruined by cocaine and ecstasy in an exclusive with Piers Morgan for the Mail on Sunday.

She turned her life around when, at the age of 23 in 2003, she was offered a six-album deal by Universal Records worth over £1million, and vowed not to waste her talents.

And she later said she was 'humbled' to be bestowed with the honour.

Meanwhile, the emails also suggest allegations surrounding his stance in the Scottish referendum and investing in loss-making companies to reduce his tax bill.

But Beckham's representatives dismissed the claims, stating that the emails had been 'hacked and doctored' from a private account.

A spokesman for Beckham said: 'This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture.'

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