As Chilli of TLC continues the group’s tour as a one-woman show, she just gave an update on her group member T-Boz. During an October 9th concert in Las Vegas, she revealed that the singer born Tionne Watkins is slowly recovering from her sickle cell crisis.
“Some of you may not know that my group member T-Boz has sickle cell disease,” she shared with the audience (via TMZ). “Sometimes, you have a crisis, and she did this time. She’s taking the very necessary time she needs to get back to 100 percent. I’m going to continue to hold it down for my sister. Tonight, I’m gonna ask each and every one of you to help me hold it down for her.”
TLC has been on tour alongside Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue for the ‘It’s Iconic’ tour. As of today, there are two stops left on the tour. They will perform at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on October 10th. Then, they’ll wrap up in Concord, California at the Toyota Pavilion on October 11th.
Fans noticed T-Boz’s absence on the group’s August 28th performance in Connecticut. On September 3rd, their manager Bill Diggins revealed that her sickle cell crisis required hospitalization. Thankfully, her condition wasn’t considered life-threatening at the time. All parties were insistent on keeping the shows going for all the fans who paid for tickets.
TLC Wraps Up Tour Without T-Boz As She Recovers From Sickle Cell Crisis
“When she experiences a sickle cell crisis, the recovery period can vary and may take days or weeks,” Diggins shared in a statement. “Her health and recovery remain our highest priority. Tionne looks forward to returning to the tour when she is fully recovered and medically cleared to perform.”
It’s not yet known if she’ll be able to make either one of the last dates on the TLC tour.
T-Boz has grappled with sickle cell anemia since birth. The 56-year-old singer was even told by her doctors as a kid that they weren’t sure she would live very long. However, now she’s lived over 25 years past her expected age and toured the world in the process.
“I was told at 7 years old I would never live past 30,” she said on Good Morning America. “I would be disabled my whole life and never have kids. But I traveled the world in TLC. I’ve worked with Michael Jackson.”
Photo by Alyssa Greenberg/WWD via Getty Images
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