From ousted group members to dubious writing credits, these independent women survived
their fair share of drama.
Of course, they ultimately reached stardom that more than paid their bills, bills, bills
but it wasn't easy.
These are some of the biggest scandals to rock Destiny's Child.
No one thought that Beyoncé would go on to slay the pop charts when she started out with
Destiny's Child.
And apparently, she hasn't forgotten just how little their record label invested in
their success.
In 2016, Beyoncé told Elle of her Destiny's Child days,
"They underestimated us."
While she didn't specify which record label it was, Destiny's Child was signed to Columbia
Records at the time.
Always one to keep her eyes on the prize, Beyoncé looked at her record label's alleged
neglect as an opportunity to hone her craft.
She explained,
"They allowed us to write our own songs and write our own video treatments.
It ended up being the best thing, because that's when I became an artist and took control.
[...] We had a vision for ourselves and nobody really cared to ask us what our vision was.
So we created it on our own, and once it was successful, I realized that we had the power
to create whatever vision we wanted for ourselves."
Beyoncé might be credited for writing the empowering lyrics to Destiny's Child sophomore
album The Writings on the Wall, but according to VICE, DC's hit songs "Bug a Boo," "So Good,"
and "Bills Bills Bills" were written by Kandi Burruss of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
fame.
So, just how much did Bey contribute to the lyrics on the group's hit 1999 album?
According to Burruss, it likely wasn't much.
She told VICE,
"I would kind of have an idea of what the melody should be; the concept and partial
lyrics.
[…] I would already have the hook together and the melody of what the verse should be.
[...] I left a little open so that they could have input as well."
After Beyoncé boasted about her songwriting skills for Vanity Fair's November 2005 issue,
claiming she had written, quote "eight Number 1 songs with Destiny's Child in a row," Fox
News slammed the artist for taking credit for writing songs attributed to a list of
songwriters.
Six months after Farrah Franklin joined Destiny's Child, a statement was released that she would
no longer be with the group and the group would become a trio.
Matthew Knowles told MTV,
"The bottom line is that Farrah didn't show up for work.
Beyoncé and Kelly have never missed a show, ever."
"We interviewed Farrah at one point...who?
Who?
Who's that?"
Franklin tried her hand at a solo career, but she was sacked from two different record
labels, according to the Daily Beast.
In 2016 Franklin tried her hand at finding love on The Millionaire Matchmaker.
After showing up four hours late for her date, her reality TV career ended.
Her mugshots didn't help either.
She was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2011 and 2014, and again in 2016, when she
was popped for, quote, "public intoxication and possession of a small amount of weed"
after arguing with a man at 3 am, according to TMZ.
Sadly, she wasn't able to pay her $250 bail.
Fans received a surprise goodbye from Destiny's Child in 2004.
People reported that Kelly Rowland broke the news to 16,000 fans during a concert in Barcelona,
Spain.
Slashing any hope that remained, MTV News released the band's breakup statement, which
said,
"After a lot of discussion and some deep soul searching, we realized that our current tour
has given us the opportunity to leave Destiny's Child on a high note.
No matter what happens we will always love each other as friends and sisters and will
always support each other as artists."
In the end, MTV News reported that fans finally bid farewell at Destiny's Child's last concert
in Vancouver, Canada.
Today, their split is just as shocking as it was in 2004.
According to MTV News, they were one of the top-selling female pop groups in history."
In July 2019 — despite their brief but iconic 2018 Coachella reunion — Rowland casually
destroyed fans' dreams about a Destiny's Child reunion, telling Us Weekly,
"It hasn't been [on] our radar."
Leave it to Matthew Knowles to continue making a profit off of Destiny's Child more than
a decade after they split.
He spoke with Forbes about his next move in 2019, saying,
"We're working on a Destiny's Child play.
[...] It's from my perspective."
Knowles also discussed his other project in the works for 2019, adding,
"My next book is Destiny's Child: The Untold Story.
People really don't know the true story of how it all unfolded."
Knowles hinted at finally unravelling all of the band's secrets and setting the record
straight.
But if you think that Destiny's Child will have anything to do with it, think again.
According to Knowles, it's all about him and his point of view.
He explained,
"I'm now telling my story."
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