VH-1 is gearing up for the release of the TLC biopic next Monday entitled "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story." Next week they could also be hit with a defamation lawsuit from the group's creator, singer Pebbles. In the 1990s, Pebbles held auditions and brought together the three women that would become TLC (Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozhanda "Chilli" Thomas).
Pebbles named the group, invested her time and money in the trio, secured them the top R&B and hip hop producers of the time and a recording contract with her husband's label LaFace Records, distributed by Arista Records, now apart of Sony Music.
TLC in the 1990s
The group released their first CD "Oooh On The TLC Tip" and became famous. Then things got ugly. Really ugly. TLC and Pebbles had a high profile legal dispute over royalties, their name and management/production contract with her company Pebbitone. The group members complained they were broke and filed for bankruptcy.
They cited their production/management deal with Pebbles and the unfavorable recording contract they held with LaFace Records. The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Pebbles released TLC from their contract under the settlement and the group resigned with LaFace for a reported $20,000,000 advance. Pebbles left the entertainment industry and became a preacher, who released a hit spiritual CD that made it into the Billboard Gospel Top 20 chart.
From left to right: Drew Sidora, Keke Palmer and
rapper Lil Mama - the actresses playing the music group TLC in the TV
biopic "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story"
After Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died in a car accident in 2002, the surviving members of TLC, Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins appeared to bury the hatchet with Pebbles, as up to a couple years ago they've been seen together in public. Chilli was even photographed hugging Pebbles during a talent show they did for Essence magazine.
However, yesterday TLC did a harsh interview regarding Pebbles with Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club, a show known for being controversial. During the interview they bashed Pebbles, who responded on Twitter stating the film is full of lies and embellishments and the interview was hurtful.
TV biopic "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story"
Pebbles is consulting with her lawyers and will have them watch the film to determine if there exists litigable offenses. Judging by the pre-release materials for the biopic, they portrayed Pebbles in a very negative light, to the point the radio disc jockey, DJ Envy, stated he hates her and she is like the devil, which was mean.
One has to wonder if it is all for ratings, because as stated above, TLC have been seen in Pebbles' company fairly recently laughing, smiling and hugging her as though they are on good terms. How did things between the two parties revert to the acrimony of their past dispute overnight.
Pebbles
Looking at the promo clips for the project, the tone of the movie comes across as somewhat cheesy, due to the actresses not being able to turn in polished performances in the recreation of the group's music videos and photos. The body language is all wrong as well, very exaggerated and at points creating unintentional laughs.
The casting is also poor to the point it is a bit comedic. Many online complained Lil Mama should not have been given the role of Left Eye. The only one they got right was Drew Sidora as T-Boz. The rest of the casting is a miss. Bad casting will hurt any project. There are talented actors and actresses in the film, but they are not right for the roles they were assigned and it shows.
Pebbles and Chilli last year
Chilli stated during the radio interview posted above that she believes "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" will be a classic flick like VH-1's retelling of the Jacksons and Temptations' stories. Not even. The trailer for "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" reveals it is too cheesy to become a classic.
