Naturi Naughton is the definition of a Hollywood comeback story. Everyone knows how she was mistreated in 3LW before being kicked out of the group altogether. While group members Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams would eventually rebound into the Cheetah Girls and later Adrienne on The Real, not many thought Naturi would also find success. However, here we are over 15 years later and she is a thriving television star gearing up for her next big TV project. During press for Queens, co-starring Eve and Brandy, she opened up about her time in 3LW and how they had to lie to be on MTV Cribs.
MTV Cribs was a staple of ’00s MTV programming. The show would showcase extravagant celebrity homes from Missy Elliot to Destiny’s Child and more. Over the years stories have come out about people who actually rented and borrowed homes to be on Cribs because they did not own a home and were not making the kind of money you’d assume for chart topping superstar. Jojo, JaRule and 50 Cent all faked it for cribs. Redman, who was famously clowned for his less that luxurious home, went on record to say that MTV tried to get him to rent a home for his episode which he refused.
Naturi is the latest to confess that her episode was a lie. Talking about her new show Queens, she says that art imitated life as the characters on the show are forced to fake it for the cameras much like she did in 3LW. “When I’m in the scene I’m like ‘yo this really happened to me’. That cribs episode, I lived it. I was doing a fake cribs.” She goes on to say that they had to pretend they lived together and actually owned a home for the show. “MTV did the cribs. Back when 3LW was hot we had to pretend. I didn’t have a car, I didn’t have a house. I didn’t have any of those things.” Even worst, they had to have the home cleaned up and returned to the family by 7pm.
Hollywood Unlocked reposted the interview. Nature jumped in the comments saying “Sorry to spill the beans but… All Facts!” In the post they all featured a clip from their cribs episode. The 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom house was reportedly situated in Malibu, California. The 3,000 sq ft home was “purchased” by the girls because they were currently in Los Angeles following their TRL tour. Kiely says in the clip that due to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks they were “stuck” on the west coast and did not want to fly. She said they were recording their record album in the home. Unfortunately it was all a lie.
According to Naturi, her character on Queens will face a much similar story line to hers. Queens following a hip-hop girl group that implodes at the high of their success. The group decides to reunite and the show follows them as they try to make a comeback.
