David Beckham's 11-year-old son Cruz releases Christmas single, sparks 'exploitation' Twitter war

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The youngest son of Victoria and David Beckham, releases charity single, If Everyday was Christmas.
Cruz Beckham in a photo from his Instagram page. PHOTO: INSTAGRAM

The youngest son of footballer David Beckham has released a Christmas single.

But in doing so, he triggered a war of words between his manager and TV host Piers Morgan over child exploitation, with Morgan saying that his "fame-hungry" parents were using him to promote "brand Beckham".

Cruz Beckham's recording of If Every Day Was Christmas received its first radio play on Wednesday (Dec 7) before being made available online, according to a BBC report.

Profits from the song's sales will go to Global's Make Some Noise charity, which supports disadvantaged young people in Britain, said the broadcaster.

The cover photo was taken by Cruz's older brother Brooklyn, who will be releasing a photography book entitled What I See.

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Cruz, 11, is being managed by Scooter Braun - who also signed Justin Bieber. Bieber was 13 years old when he released his first single One Time in 2009.

Earlier this week, the young Beckham launched his own Instagram account, where he has been posting images to promote the single.

He also used the page to upload videos of himself singing. In one clip, he is seen performing a cover of Hopeful by Twista featuring Faith Evans.

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Beckham Jr also uploaded a cover of When I'm Gone - originally recorded in 1931 by the Carter Family but made famous more recently by Anna Kendrick, who performed it in the film Pitch Perfect.

Sky News reported that Cruz joined radio station Capital FM to sing a verse from the track, telling listeners the song brings together "two of my favourite things: singing and Christmas".

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"And it's amazing to put those together and the money is going to charity," he told the station.

His father David, who was in the room when he was being interviewed, said he was "really proud" of his son for venturing into music, adding: "He's having fun, he's enjoying it."

But the move was criticised by Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, said the BBC, who said: "Why don't you go to school, mate, because you're not famous, your parents are famous... stop putting these kids into the public domain while simultaneously saying privacy."

Scooter Braun hit back on Twitter, saying of Cruz: "He is an 11-year-old who wanted to make a song to help other kids. Once again Piers shows why he is a jackass and why his [US] show was cancelled.

"Some people in this world make a living out of finding the worst in every situation. It means they have a career... not class. Just a career."

But the war of words between the two did not end there, with angry messages flying back and forth on Twitter between Morgan and Braun and other Twitter users being drawn in.

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