Destiny’s Child remains a record breaking group that has stood the test of time for the last three decades.
While many know the group featuring Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, in its early days the group took a much different form. Knowles and Rowland have been central members of the group since day one. Michelle Williams was later added to the trio after members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett left.
The group which was initially started in 1990 after Knowles met Roberson in an audition for an all-girl entertainment group in Houston, Texas. The original name of the group was Girl’s Tyme and featured six members, before eventually going down to four once Knowles father Mathew Knowles started managing them.
While their debut album dropped in 1997 to fairly successful numbers, in 1999 Roberson and Luckett attempted to part ways with Knowles’ father because they claimed he was not splitting profits fairly, and was giving more attention to both Rowland and his daughter.
“There was nothing at the time that I could do about it,” Luckett recalled of getting kicked out of the group. “Did it hurt? Absolutely. Because we were friends. I went to school with these girls.”
They allegedly found out when they were watching TV and the “Say My Name” video dropped with a new member.
“I never left Destiny’s Child. That is something that people say. But who would leave Destiny’s Child? That’s crazy! I was dismissed from the group,” she shared. “It was very difficult because of the way that I found out about it. I hate even talking about it, and it’s been 20 years — but it is what it is. We saw the “Say My Name” video on TV, and that’s how I found out I was no longer in the group.”
In 2000, both women brought a lawsuit against Mathew Knowles and Destiny’s Child. A lot of back and forth ensued in the press before both suits were eventually settled out of court.
Over the years, LaTavia has shared her shock and the way she was traumatized by that decision and how it went down. In 2017, she planned to release her book I Am LaTavia, which drew further questions about her time in Destiny’s Child and what really went down with the group. However, the book remains unreleased.
After Destiny’s Child
After being released, Luckett and Roberson went on to form the group Anjel with two other women for a short while before eventually splitting.
Roberson then pivoted to acting doing smaller roles in some stage plays. Then in 2014, she joined R&B Diva’s: Atlanta season 3. Over the years she has maintained her passion to release more music, but has not released a solo album.
After not seeing each other for nearly 18 years, Roberson reunited with Destiny’s Child in 2018. She stopped by to see her on her On The Run II tour in Houston. Sharing a picture of the sweet moment to her Instagram.
“It was so wonderful sharing a laugh and spending time with my FRIEND of 30 years… hadn’t seen Bey in 18 yrs,” she captioned the backstage image. “My mother [Cheryl] s clearly tickled. The children are amazing ‘Everything IS Love.'”
Since the reunion, LaTavia has pivoted to motivational speaking and philanthropy.
“After the group ended, I had a lot of time to myself, and I took the wrong direction, but I learned from my mistakes,” she explained. “At the end of the day, are they really mistakes? I’ve had my daughter and, unfortunately, I’ve lost a daughter. I just like to do things that make me feel good, and I like to give back to the community.”
