TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas has sparked a lot of online backlash after saying “all lives matter” during her responses to a question about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Earlier this week, TLC sat down with UK’s Channel 4 News to discuss their first album in 15 years.
Chilli and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins were asked, “Did you feel strongly about the Black Lives Matter movement?”
READ MORE: TLC launches Kickstarter campaign to fund new album
“I personally didn’t go into any marches, or anything like that, but for me, all lives matter, you know what I mean?” Chilli said. “Because there is a time when different groups are targeted for different things, you know what I’m saying? So, I just think that, just the whole — what happened, police brutality, against these young black boys, all of that kind of stuff is wrong, even if it was a Caucasian teen kid that this was happening to or whatever.”
https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/861989258764181504
Many people online voiced their disappointment in Chilli’s comments following the interview.
https://twitter.com/JuChainz/status/862122859581366275
https://twitter.com/ScottieBeam/status/862341817584553985
READ MORE: Lil Wayne doesn’t feel connected to Black Lives Matter: ‘My Life Matter’
Meanwhile, T-Boz also sparked some controversy after the reporter asked, “What’s it like for you both being black women in America in the age of Donald Trump?”
“I don’t care about Donald Trump, so, I mean, God is my president,” T-Boz said. “I just feel sorry for the people it affects, but I don’t care about him.”
Some people on Twitter couldn’t believe the answers TLC gave during the interview.
https://twitter.com/BlkCarmenSDiego/status/862273000569229318
When asked if they think Trump is a “scrub”, T-Boz laughed before saying, “It doesn’t bother me I worked on Celebrity Apprentice when he hasn’t president and I wasn’t too found of him then. So I don’t care really.”
Chilli has responded to the backlash, telling The Shade Room, “Of course Black Lives Matter and the killing of young black boys is heartbreaking to all of us. Everyone knows I am a black mother of a black son so there is no way I could watch what’s happening and not be affected. That video was from an interview in London asking me about issues happening in the U.S. My response was inclusive of everyone, but not meant to undervalue the Black Lives Matter movement or to suggest police brutality against blacks is acceptable.”
READ MORE: Lil Wayne clarifies what he meant by saying there’s ‘no such thing as racism’
Chilli isn’t the only person who’s received heavy criticism for their response to a Black Lives Matter question.
In November, rapper Lil Wayne shared his thoughts on the movement in an interview on Nightline.
Lil Wayne appeared confused at first. “What is it? What do you mean?” he asked. And when asked if he felt drawn to the movement, he answers: “I don’t feel connected to a damn thing that ain’t got nothin’ to do with me.”
Once reporter Lindsey Davis informed him of what the movement is, he implied that the fact that he is, in his own words, “a young black, rich motherf***er,” meant that he didn’t have to be connected to the movement.
“My life matter,” he concluded. “Especially to my b**ches.”
His comments in his Nightline interview have caused a firestorm of reactions against the rapper on social media.
https://twitter.com/Trashvis/status/793808056127815680
TLC’s new album comes after T-Boz and Chilli created a kick-starter in 2015 to get their fans involved in the creative process.
So far, they have released two singles, Haters, and Way Back featuring Snoop Dogg.
Watch TLC’s full interview here.
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