No Scrubs, But MAGA? How Chilli from TLC Betrayed the Soundtrack of My Childhood

I was in the fourth grade when I bought my first TLC album. Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. I had the tape. I played it until it broke. I memorized every word. I studied the album cover. I wanted to be Left Eye.By the time CrazySexyCool came out, I was in middle school. And TLC was everything. Me and my friends had dance routines to "Waterfalls" and "Red Light Special." I had my haircut like T-Boz in the 8th grade. Girls dressed up as TLC for Halloween.TLC was not just music to me. TLC was identity formation. TLC was Black girlhood. TLC was the soundtrack to my coming of age.And now, in 2026, I'm finding out that Chilli—one-third of TLC—has been donating to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. She's been liking posts from right-wing commentators. She's been aligning herself with MAGA ideology for years.And I feel betrayed.In this episode, I break down the concrete facts: Chilli made multiple recurring donations to Trump's 2024 campaign, totaling over $1,000. She reshared a conspiracy theory video about Michelle Obama. She's been liking posts from Black conservative Brandon Tatum, including one that argues there is a "pro-trans agenda in America." And when she got caught, she claimed it was all a "mistake"—that she "didn't read the fine print."But the receipts tell a different story. This is not a mistake. This is a pattern.