All About Laughs
Surviving TLC members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas have continued to work and carry the legacy of their group in the 2 decades since losing Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopez. While their post Left-Eye content has been predominately in the form of new music, videos and tours, the ladies have also made their foray into the magical world of reality television.
T-Boz & Chilli before their first public appearance after the death of Left Eye. 📷 Dana Lixenberg, Entertainment Weekly, 2002 pic.twitter.com/P2eelGzpBF
— Craig Seymour, Black gay music critic (@craigspoplife) January 18, 2021
In the early 2000’s, when the majority of reality TV was talent show based, the pair came together for a short lived contest called “R U the Girl”. The series, which ran for one season UPN, found T-Boz and Chilli auditioning girls for a one off collaboration on their 2005 single “I Bet”.
2010 saw Chilli jump back onto the small screen in an attempt to find love. “What Chilli Wants” aired for 2 seasons on VH1 and followed Rozonda as she navigated dating and relationships. She also appeared on Lil Kim’s VH1 reality series “Girls Cruise” in 2019, which followed the girls on their boat trip vacation.
T-Boz, on the other hand, was a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice in 2009. She then starred in her own reality show “Totally T-Boz” on TLC in 2013. That show ran for 4 episodes.
With their impressive TV resumes and status as one of the biggest selling groups of all time, it would be a no brainer for the girls to partner with a bigger reality TV entity and up their status further. The idea has worked wonders for Kandi Burruss and Tameka “Tiny” Harris who also started off in a 90’s girl group (Xscape) and pen TLC’s mega hit “No Scrubs”. However, the ladies of TLC have expressed that they have no interest in being “Real Housewives”.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight in 2019, the girls revealed that while the Andy Cohen helmed franchise has reached out, they have declined several times.
“I did [a cameo] for Kandi [Burruss] one time,” said T-Boz, explaining why she turned it down. “This is the thing, I don’t play like that. Like, I’m not arguing, I’m too old to be arguing and first of all, I don’t argue with nobody I don’t care about. If I care about you, I will take the time to do this. But I’m not arguing with no grown women. I’ll end up going to jail for real. Like, I don’t do that.”
The ultimate guide to the careers of @OfficialTLC in the movies! 🎬🎥📺 https://t.co/6EmBHijpbz pic.twitter.com/dinKZNzfkP
— TLC News (@TLCArmyNews) November 13, 2019
Chilli chimed in: “And I wouldn’t be able to bail her out because I would be right there with her!”
They went on to say they felt the show and what it stands for goes directly against their brand, which they are determined to protect.