NOTE: The cover photo was edited with AI.
I’ll never forget that afternoon.
Picture it. Circa early 1993. I was 11 yrs. old, sitting in my room watching videos on BET while getting ready for dance class. Before I left, a new song came on. It showed a girl group I’d never seen or heard of before. Their names were TLC, which stood for T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye. The girls had a tomboyish look that could only be described as unique. They wore extremely baggy and bright colored clothes, large hats, and combat boots. Left Eye wore a condom over her left eye, hence the name. The song, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” went over my head a little bit, but it didn’t stop me from being captivated by it.
My favorite TLC member was Chilli. She was beautiful and she could sing. Really sing. I loved all the girls in the group, but Chilli remained my favorite for the next 30+ years. Which is why what I learned two weeks ago was so hurtful.
Chilli was outed as a MAGA supporter.
Now, some readers may be upset that I said that, and if you are, you have every right to feel the way you want to feel. However, I have the right to feel the way I feel, and I have never subscribed to MAGA, and seeing the frightening turn this country has taken during Donald Trump’s second term, I have to question anyone that still believes this man is doing a great job.
With that said, it was revealed via Meidas Touch that there were records in the FEC website showing that Chilli, whose Christian name is Rozanda Thomas, has donated to Trump campaigns as well other MAGA led organizations. The donations themselves were small, but nonetheless, she still funded them.
To add to this, the site did some further digging and saw where she reposted a now deleted social media post claiming that former first lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama was once a man. They also found various posts that Chilli liked, for example, the social media posts stating that Donald Trump won the state of Georgia, as well as the one where he was officially declared the 47th president. She also follows a lot of right wing supporters and media hubs, such as Newsmax, Tomi Lahren, and none other than Donald Trump, Jr.
Jeez.
Needless to say, this angered a lot of people—namely the 92% of black women that made it clear they don’t support MAGA in any way, shape, or form. Here’s the thing, though. Many women in that 92% is made up of Gen Xers and Millennials—people my age—who had every intention of attending the upcoming TLC/Salt ‘n Pepa/En Vouge tour. Now a lot of them either aren’t going, or they’re making it known that they regret using their money to buy tickets, seeing as what their money is going toward behind closed doors.
So, Ms. Chilli had to do some damage control. She had to release the following post/video to try to appease her fan base:
Then to top it off, Ms. Salt also had to put her two cents in with the following response (hit the right arrow to see it in the Baller Alert post):
I’m sorry Chilli and Salt (I just realized these ladies’ names go together in more than one way), this wasn’t the move to make. It’d be one thing if some random person just shouted out, “Chilli supports Donald Trump,” and then the whole world just blindly believed it. Chilli, a publication outed you with receipts. They had ironclad proof that I even double checked (I believe she’s since unfollowed some of the MAGA supporters, but Dean Cain, Tomi Lahren, and MAGA comedian Terrance K. Williams remain among her list of friends).
Even if you want to explain away the likes, reposts, and follows, what about the campaign contributions? I did a quick Google search on each one, and they all are clearly Republican organizations. Nothing came up about assisting veterans. Apparently, Never Surrender is a political action committee (PAC) that assists people with ALS, but it is heavily tied to the MAGA movement. As a matter of fact, according to the website NOTUS (News of the United States), Donald Trump’s people from WinRed are asking his supporters to not only make themselves known, but to send a donation to Never Surrender. Seemingly, the Never Surrender donation is now needed to support the troops (the active troops currently fighting in the recent Iraq war, not vets, mind you), not people suffering from ALS. Okay.
Also, if you really wanted to donate to veterans, why not give money to known causes like the Wounded Warrior Project or the VFW? Oh, and let’s not forget…T-Boz outed Chilli as a Trump Supporter 10 years ago:
In even further strange news, during an episode of Nick Cannon’s Big Drive show (I swear this man has a different TV show/podcast/radio program every time I turn around), he and Amber Rose were discussing politics and some other goofy topics (Amber admitted that she believes white people should feel free to say the N word, and she allows her kids to cuss around her). While discussing Donald Trump, Nick states that he “fucks with Donald Trump” and they go on to shower this man with praise and mention how back in the day, the Republicans were the ones that freed the slaves, and the Democrats were the ones that were all for slavery backed the KKK.
Now, here’s the thing…it’s true that back in the early 1800s, the Republican party was down for helping people of any race and creed, and the Democrats kept their feet on black folks’ necks. This an argument that Republicans—namely MAGA—love to bring up nowadays. However, what they and Nick always fail to do, is leave out the most important piece of this historical context…
Over the course of time, the Republican party became more conservative, and less interested in black people’s causes, whereas the Democratic party became more liberal. According to many historians, this shift began around the 1930s with the New Deal, and further solidified during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Roland Martin broke it down beautifully, with the many books he’s read of the years as backup (you can view the video below whenever you have the chance). Either way, Republicans may have campaigned for African-American causes years ago, but now it’s a different story, especially when it comes to Donald Trump’s organization.
What further infuriates me with the Chilli situation is the gaslighting. Ma’am, we have the proof. Just stand in your shit. Don’t pee in our mouths and tell us it’s Kool-Aid. Shoot, T-Boz outed Chilli herself during a 2016 interview!
In the meantime, just keep this in mind…you’re supporting an administration whose members and most followers wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.
Candace Owens, another long-time member of Black MAGA, was a beloved member of the movement…when she was putting down her own people. However, ever since she’s been stirring up conspiracy theories about Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, they’ve pretty much disowned her. Laura Loomer, another MAGA supporter, recently got into to it with Candace and had this to say about her:
I don’t care for Candace Owens at all, but I will say this…that woman is anything but ghetto. To add insult to injury, Laura called Candace out her name, and implied that Candace was ugly and Erika is the “pretty white blonde woman.” Wow. Here’s what they think about you, Chilli. You may want to remember that. Good luck on that tour; you’re gonna need it.
—Written by Nadiya
So what do you think about the revelation about Chilli supporting MAGA? How do you feel about Nick Cannon and Amber Rose being MAGA supporters? Let me know in the comments section!
Insights from a Southern Girl 