David Beckham has admitted he only has one regret when it comes to his previous hairstyles.
Earlier this week, the former England striker took part in a Q&A with TV producer Ben Winston to launch the Lira Winston Fellowships, during which he reflected on the hairstyle he wore while meeting Nelson Mandela in 2003.
He shared that he and his wife Victoria had been on holiday with a hairdresser friend who offered to put cornrows in his hair.
“I said… ‘Yeah, I don’t know what they are, but yeah’,” he recalled (via The Sun). “It was painful having them done but I liked them.
“People ask if I have any regrets about my hairstyles and while I don’t regret any of them, I do sort of regret the cornrows.”
He continued: “I had them put in on the Saturday and on the Monday I flew to South Africa with the England team for a match.
“I got to meet the great Nelson Mandela. And the picture that I’ve got of Nelson Mandela is me holding his hand with cornrows in my hair. That’s my only regret.”
In the 20 years since, a number of white celebrities have faced accusations of cultural appropriation for sporting cornrows, including Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner.
David previously told James Corden he stood by most of his infamous fashion choices from the “Posh and Becks” era during a 2017 interview.
“I’m not saying I regret them because at the time, it felt right,” he insisted, before joking: “Now I’m not so sure.”