After the 3AW situation, I found myself at rock bottom. I had to start over and slowly climb my way back up. 3LW was one of the most successful girl groups of the early 2000s, but their meteoric rise was cut short after just two years. They went from being one of the top-selling girl groups in the world to falling apart after Naturi Naughton revealed the racism and violence she faced from the group and management. Naturi endured several uncomfortable situations before eventually being kicked out with no money. Even after all these years, she still holds a grudge over how she was treated and how her career never fully recovered. So, what really happened? Let’s break it down.
Being part of the group was something I was definitely proud of. You left the group, right? Yeah, 3LW was hugely popular in the early 2000s with hits like “No More” and “Playas Gon’ Play,” and the members Adrienne Bailon, Naturi Naughton, and Kiely Williams were celebrated for their talent and diversity. “Three, two, one. I’m Adrienne. I’m Kiely. And I’m Naturi, and we’re 3LW.”
3LW was formed in 1999 by Michelle Williams, who was also Kiely’s older sister and guardian. After Kiely’s mother passed away a few months after she was born, Michelle stepped in to take care of her. Naturi grew up in New Jersey, while Adrienne was born and raised in New York. The group found success quickly, with their self-titled album going platinum in the U.S., selling over 1.3 million copies. However, their success was short-lived as rumors began to spread about a feud between Naturi and Kiely.
Interviewer: “Wow, you said you had to learn to get along with each other. Was that hard?”
Kiely: “Yeah, it was a little difficult. It was a challenge.”
Interviewer: “Can you tell us a bit more about it?”
Kiely: “Sure, it was mainly between Naturi and me. We had some conflict.”
Interviewer: “What kind of issues were you dealing with?”
Kiely: “We were all so different from each other. We came from different backgrounds and were raised differently. When we first got together, we had different opinions and ways of looking at things. We had to find a way to make it work for all of us. Musically, we took pieces we loved from each other and blended them together. We also started blending our personalities, learning from each other, and appreciating our differences. We learned to love each other and accept that it’s okay to be different.”
The drama really started to affect the group’s commercial success. Unlike today, where rappers and singers often trash talk each other in their songs, things were different in the 90s. For a young girl group, maintaining a good image was crucial. One wrong move could end your career. The drama surrounding this alleged feud got so intense that their second album, “A Girl Can Mack,” was put on hold because the label feared it would flop. The tension between Naturi and Kiely eventually turned violent when Kiely threw a plate of hot food in Naturi’s face. Naturi explained that although she and Kiely had always had a rocky relationship with occasional fights, the breaking point was when Kiely became violent and threw hot food at her during a nasty altercation.
In an interview with MTV, Naturi went into detail about the food fight and the issues she had with their manager, Michelle. She said, “There was an argument between me, Michelle, Kiely, and Adrienne. They were cursing me out, and before I knew it, Kiely threw her plate of food in my face—mashed potatoes, macaroni—all in my hair, down my clothes, ruining my hairdo. Nobody has the right to hit me. That’s not why I’m here, to be physically abused.”
Naturi revealed to MTV that the group’s tension was largely due to their manager, Michelle. Michelle was not only Kiely’s sister but also her legal guardian. Naturi claimed that Michelle often favored Kiely, pushing her to be the group’s lead and creating conflicts with the other members, especially Naturi. Originally, the girls of 3LW were close, and the issues really started because of management’s bias against Naturi.
The group members, particularly Kiely, faced a lot of criticism for how they treated Naturi. Kiely addressed these accusations, saying, “Those who know us know that she would not hesitate to check me when needed.” Despite all the drama, Naturi was ready to put everything behind her and rejoin the group to promote their second album. However, Michelle didn’t want Naturi in the group anymore and kicked her out. To make matters worse, Michelle asked Naturi to lie to the public, saying she was leaving to go to college. Naturi refused to deceive the fans. When the second album finally came out, it flopped, selling only 53,000 copies in the first week.
Naturi later appeared on Wendy Williams’ radio show and didn’t hold back in revealing what was really going on.
“I would never leave 3LW on my own. There was this moderator named Insole on our website, and they told him to shut it down. They wanted me to tell Chris, our manager, what was happening. So, I grabbed the phone and said, ‘Alright, they’re trying to kick me out of the group.’ Immediately, Michelle snatched the phone and said, ‘Naturi, why are you saying that? You’re supposed to tell him something else.’ I thought I was supposed to tell the truth, but they were trying to protect 3LW’s image. We argued, and she kept asking what I said wrong.”
Naturi also opened up about the colorism she faced in 3LW. She remembered how the label wanted to put Adrienne and Kiely, who had lighter skin and wavy hair, at the center of the group, pushing her to the back because she didn’t fit that image.
“Was skin complexion an issue in 3LW? Absolutely. People would ask why they were trying to kick the dark-skinned girl out. When I was 15, the management and production company told us we needed to put Adrienne, the Puerto Rican girl, in the spotlight because the J-Lo look was trending. They said there was a Puerto Rican fad and that she needed to be more upfront. I was just a teenager who wanted to sing, and I didn’t think my skin color should matter, but they made it clear that it did. They said no one was really interested in the brown-skinned girl because the J-Lo look was in.”
The girls faced a lot of criticism after the interview and were accused of mistreating Naturi. In response to the negative press, Adrienne and Kiely went on a press tour to do some damage control. They denied all of Naturi’s claims about the food fight and basically called her a liar. They also said that Naturi was only brought into the group because she was dark-skinned, which contradicted her claims that she was kicked out because of her skin color. Their explanation, suggesting she was chosen for her skin tone rather than her talent, didn’t seem to help much.
Here’s what happened:
“So, let’s get straight to this because there’s a lot going on with you guys, and Naturi is no longer part of 3LW. I want to go through all the stories we’ve been hearing and get your side of things, okay? Naturi said that during an argument with your mom, who is also your manager, you threw a hot plate of Kentucky Fried Chicken in her face.
Adrienne responded, “Defending myself against a two-piece meal sounds crazy, right? It really does. First of all, she wasn’t arguing with my mom; she was arguing with me. A lot of stories have gotten really mixed up. We were arguing about rumors that Naturi was being kicked out of the group or leaving. She got on the phone with someone, the board moderator, and said, ‘Yeah, they’re kicking me out. The two light-skinned girls are kicking me out.’ That shocked me because she always called me Adrienne, not ‘light-skinned girl.’ That made me mad, and we started arguing, which wasn’t normal for us. Like any teenagers, we argued. The food incident happened because Kiely’s three-year-old sister hit a plate of food. To turn that into a physical assault allegation shocked us; it was a serious accusation.
This has definitely hurt us more than anything. We just want to clear the record. That didn’t happen; she was never physically or verbally abused. Saying she was kicked out because she was dark-skinned is crazy. She was brought into the group because she was dark-skinned; that was the look we wanted. We wanted diversity—a Latina and a brown-skinned beauty.”
Just a couple of months after all the drama, 3LW released their third album, “Naughty or Nice,” with only Adrienne and Kiely’s vocals. Unfortunately, the album was a major flop and didn’t make any impact on the charts. Rumors started swirling that the group was looking for a new third member, but they denied it, saying they were now a duo.
“Wow, there are a lot of rumors about the group right now. Are you guys looking for a new member? What’s going on?”
“Right now, we’re definitely staying as a duo while we keep promoting the album. But hey, you never know what could happen.”
“Definitely. Definitely.”
But then they held auditions all over America to find someone to fill Naturi’s spot and eventually chose Jessica Benson. However, Jessica didn’t last long either, as Adrienne and Kiely left the group to join the Cheetah Girls franchise alongside Raven-Symoné and Sabrina Bryan. The franchise was a massive hit, with the first movie drawing in a staggering 84 million viewers. They released several multi-platinum albums, made two more movies, and went on a world tour that earned $48 million in revenue.
But drama followed them even there. Raven left the group after the second movie, citing the cliquish behavior of the others. She went live on Instagram years later, spilling some tea and saying, “The cliquish ways they were doing the movie made me feel excluded from my original team.”
After finishing the Cheetah Girls, Adrienne and Kiely went their separate ways and lost contact. Meanwhile, Naturi hit rock bottom financially and had to start from scratch. She enrolled in college, auditioned for numerous roles, and performed in Broadway shows.
In an interview, Naturi opened up about her struggles, saying, “I was broke after I left 3LW. I had to start from the bottom and work my way back up. I went to Seton Hall University, took out student loans, and had a scholarship.”
Naturi eventually got her big break, landing the role of Lil’ Kim in the “Notorious” biopic and later starring in the STARZ original TV show “Power.” Adrienne became a co-host on the Emmy-winning daytime show “The Real” until it was canceled in 2022. In 2017, Naturi and Adrienne had a heartfelt conversation where Adrienne apologized for her past behavior, making many believe their feud was finally over. However, Kiely reignited tensions by calling Adrienne a fake friend when asked if she would have an open conversation with Adrienne on “The Real.”
“I don’t think Adrienne wants to have live TV with me,” Kiely said. “She’s going to say, ‘Yes, Kiely, I did pretend to be your best friend, and now I’m not.’ It’s like, you were either lying then or you’re lying now.”
This made it clear to everyone that Kiely had been the problem all along. Fans quickly called her out for bullying Naturi. One person commented, “Kiely wanted to be the star, but Adrienne and Naturi were the stars. Kiely got her karma. Adrienne and Naturi are winning.” Another added, “Naturi was the prettiest and most genuine. She carries herself with class and is successful in movies, shows, and hosting gigs.”
What are your thoughts on Naturi exposing the management and other members of 3LW for sabotaging her and leaving her broke? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out this other video for more insights.