Chilli sent the media into a frenzy earlier this week when she was spotted on a beautiful beach in Hawaii with ‘Boy Meets World‘ star Matthew Lawrence.
Despite the assumptions that they were romantically involved, the rumors were put to rest by a spokesperson for Chilli who stated that the two were just good friends enjoying the some time on the Hawaiian beach.
“TLC had a show in Hawaii,” a rep for Chilli told E! News. “They’ve been touring all summer and are heading to Australia soon. Matthew and Chilli are friends and were taking a moment to get some sun after the show. They weren’t by themselves there was a group with them.”
TLC had just completed a very successful string of dates in Hawaii last week on August 5, 6 & 7 at the Blaisdell Arena along with boy band New Kids On The Block.
Judging from the excitement they caused with their sold out shows which were rescheduled from dates in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the girls will be very happy to return to Hawaii again soon. “We had a blast and cannot wait to come back!”, Chilli posted on social media to the Hawaiian radio station, The Keola Show.
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins spoke with TMZ this week to clear up some things that had made the headlines last week, following her interview with ‘Hollywood Unlocked‘ where she had named some of the people that hadn’t fully supported TLC, following the tragic loss of the beloved Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes.
Tionne says that she was actually referring to the promoters and industry executives in charge that had turned their backs on TLC after the loss of Lisa rather than other artists, most notably their former LaFace Records boss, L.A. Reid. “L.A. didn’t stop rocking with us because he didn’t believe in us anymore, it was something personal which I’ll always keep between us”, Tionne admits. “Whether I agreed with it or not, he out of respect called me, and I’ll just leave it like that”.
“The final decision was to not rock with us, but it wasn’t because he didnt believe in us, so I’ll clear that part up”, Tionne clarifies. “But, he did decide to turn his back and keep on going, and that’s fine, it’s business”.
To recap, TLC had inked a deal with L.A. Reid back in 2013 on Epic Records, the label he was the head of at the time. Fresh after the success of their hit VH1 movie, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘, and the release of it’s soundtrack, ‘20‘, featuring the track “Meant To Be“, TLC were in the studio recording their first studio album since 2002’s ‘3D‘.
However, shortly during the recording process, the deal was mysteriously terminated, leaving fans confused and upset. The girls had said they would reveal what happened but have since decided to keep it personal. L.A. Reid had insisted that he did not drop the girls, saying that they are friends for life.
The following are excerpts from an LA Times article, documenting some of the tracks TLC were working on at the time. ‘TLC recently issued “Meant to Be,” their first single since 2003. The saccharine, Ne-Yo-crafted ballad is the lone new track from the biopic’s soundtrack, “20,” and came from recent sessions that include collaborations with Dallas Austin and Lady Gaga, who penned a track called “P.O.S.H. Life.” They also hope to log studio time with Drake and 2 Chainz.’
‘After another check on Thomas, Watkins slid into a dimly lit booth to take a stab at another song — an angsty, guitar-driven pop-rock ballad called “Breaking Bad.” “If I die before I wake, at least I know I lived for something,” she sang. “If this breath is the last I take, I don’t want it to be for nothing.”’
The media also spun her comments as an attack on fellow musicians Drake, T.I. and Nelly for pulling out on the girls for their 2014 Super Bowl Blitz on VH1. However, Tionne was glad to clear up that misconception and says there are no hard feelings against any of the rappers.
“I was actually saying it in a good way, because [that show] turned out great for us. Because God always makes things go exactly how it’s supposed to, I’m a believer in that”, Tionne says. “I am happy that they actually didn’t show up, because it showed that we had staying power. That we can still rock on stage without the bells and whistles and other people to save us.”
Tionne also admits that she doesn’t blame the artists for not wanting to rock with them at that time, as no one really knew if continuing without Lisa was going to work out or not. “I’ve got respect for Drake, Nelly and T.I., I don’t want it to sound like it was being messy. They made it sound like I said they turned their back on TLC, child, that’s business”, she says.
“To keep it honest, if I was the artist and I didn’t know the state of the group, I’d be scared too! I’d be like, ‘hell naw, I don’t know what y’all doing’. That’s business, y’all, that’s the way the industry goes. I’m not mad”.
With Chilli being such a health conscious person, who not only works out regularly but eats the right food, it was only a matter of time for her passion to come full circle, work-wise!
Chilli announced that she is working on a brand new cooking show she is calling Fix My Plate which will feature her helping some of her industry friends change some of their unhealthy cooking habits and find an alternative and healthier way to cook.
This week, Chilli was caught filming an episode for the show with rapper Yung Joc, as they took time out to talk to TMZ Live to explain what to expect on the show.
Chilli with guest Yung Joc
“I’m doing this because a lot of people want to eat healthy, but they don’t know what to do, or they don’t want to stop eating all the bad stuff“, Chilli told TMZ. “What I do is find out what they like, and then find the healthier version of that.”
Nearly 40 percent of Americans are trying to eat more plant-based foods, according to a Nielsen Homescan survey.
A meat-free product Chilli swears by, that she introduced to Yung Joc, is the Beyond Meat range. “What I’m gonna do [to get him off his regular consumption of fried chicken] is make him a Beyond burger“, Chilli says.
“It’s loaded with protein and it’s plant based, the texture is amazing, it’s so good!“
Beyond Meat has sold 25 million of its “Beyond Burgers” since 2016, according to the company.
Restaurants, including TGI Friday’s, sell it on its menu. White Castle sells the Impossible Burger, which Eater magazine called “one of the country’s best fast-food burgers, period” in April.
Chilli with actor Blue Kimble
Chilli is very clear on the importance of making small changes when it comes to changing one’s eating habits.
“I think you have to take baby steps, you can’t just jump into it, because when you do it like that, you won’t stick to it, you’ll fall apart.“
The show is still currently in production and will be with us in 2019.
For further updates you can subscribe to the website fixmyplate.tv and you can follow on Instagram at @fixmyplatetv.
Director: French Spencer.
Executive producers: French Spencer, Chilli, Christal Jordan of Enchanted PR.
On a sidenote, peep Chilli in the kitchen with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart cooking up some chili!
Leon@TLCArmy
TLC-Army.com 