T-Boz Recounts TLC Confrontation With Arista Records Over Unpaid Earnings

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins is revisiting one of TLC's most defiant moments — the day she and her bandmates stormed into Arista Records demanding the money they were owed — in a newly released clip from TV One's Uncensored.

"We went up to the record company like, 'Y'all owe us money,'" Watkins says in the clip, per Y! Entertainment. "We said we're taking anything off the walls or desks that says TLC."

Watkins recounts how she and bandmates Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes entered Arista's offices, ultimately finding themselves in a meeting with legendary music executive Clive Davis. Sean "Diddy" Combs was present at the time, playing music, as the situation escalated and another executive, Roy Lott, was brought in. The confrontation grew so tense that someone inside the building called the police.

"They were laughing," she says in the clip, recalling how the responding officers seemed amused that three young women had caused such a stir inside a major music label's office. Watkins jokes that the incident may have left a lasting mark. "That's why security is so tight at Arista now," she says.

The standoff unfolded against a backdrop of mounting financial strain. In July 1995, despite selling millions of records, TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, disclosing debts of $3.5 million. After LaFace Records and Arista recouped recording, manufacturing, and distribution costs — and charged additional expenses including travel, hotels, and music videos — each member was left earning less than $50,000 a year. The dispute ultimately ended in a 1996 settlement granting the trio a new contract with improved royalty terms and greater financial control.

Watkins' Uncensored episode also explores her personal journey living with sickle cell disease, a diagnosis she received as a child. Uncensored: T-Boz premieres tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET on TV One.