TLC’s Chilli says group lost out on Rolling Stone cover because of race
Julia Johnson
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Chilli, of the ’90s girl group TLC, claimed Tuesday that the group was not chosen for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine after the release of “No Scrubs” in 1999 because they were black.
“When you are a woman of color, it’s real hard — it’s a huge struggle,” she said at Variety‘s Power of Women luncheon.
“I’ll always remember when ‘No Scrubs’ came out and it was actually our first No. 1. … I always wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. … We didn’t get the cover,” she explained.
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The singer further said, “I won’t say who [got the cover]. It’s OK because he deserved it too, but we also did. The message was, ‘The last time we had someone black on the cover, it didn’t really sell well.’”
Rolling Stone did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
“No Scrubs” was released in 1999. The same year, Lauryn Hill and Jimi Hendrix, who are both black, graced the cover of Rolling Stone.
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Before that, black artists, including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, and Whitney Houston, among many others, had been featured on the cover of the prominent magazine often and consistently.
It’s unclear whose cover Chilli was referring to as not selling “well,” nor is it clear why she believes the reason for TLC’s omission from the cover was race based.