Mathew Knowles is claiming that adults Jagged Edge stars sexually harassed Beyonce and Kelly Rowland when they were underage teens.
Matthew Knowles is making some rather serious accusations in the #MeToo era. The 67-year-old, who is the father of Beyoncé, famously managed Destiny’s Child from 1993 when the group still consisted of its original members: Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Robertson, and LeToya Luckett. Throughout the ’90s, the girl band became household names with millions of young girls singing “Say My Name” into their hairbrushes. As Destiny’s Child’s star continued to rise, the girls performed gigs with other prominent R&B bands at the time, including Jagged Edge.
Twin brothers Brandon and Brian Casey led the group, which also featured Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo. Judging by the familiarity of the names, none of the members ever really made it that big, but their 2001 single “Where the Party At?” did reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
One of the performances included the girls from Destiny’s Child and the guys from Jagged Edge traveling on the same tour bus, which, in retrospect, Knowles says, was not a good idea.
“Now remember, the girls are minors. They’re 16 years old. The guys are 21, 22 years old. I have a fiduciary duty with minors, by the law. There’s a certain way I have to manage that,” he told VladTV while promoting his new book, Destiny’s Child: The Untold Story.
“I got a call from Kelly and Beyoncé… saying that they were constantly being harassed by two of the members in Jagged Edge,” Knowles continued. “I couldn’t have that. I literally had to put the guys off the bus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”
What followed was LeToya and LeTavia trying to find a different manager without telling their fellow group members, eventually leading to them being replaced by Michelle Willians and Farrah Franklin.
It could be argued, however, that had it not happened, we would never have gotten the Destiny’s Child we ultimately came to adore.
