Mary J. Blige Admits Her Charity Was Mismanaged

Mary J. Blige admits the lawsuit against her charity is due to mismanagement.

“As Founder and CEO of FFAWN, I am ultimately responsible for anything that goes wrong. The problem is that I didn’t have the right people in the right places doing the right things,” said Blige in a statement.  “This should have never been allowed to happen, but it did and now we are fixing it.”

Blige and her foundation Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN) are being sued for $250, 000 for failing to repay a loan to TD Bank in New York. Despite the controversy and confusion surrounding the moving of FFAWN’s headquarters, the “Real Love” singer said the organization isn’t going anywhere, it’s undergoing a transformation.

“FFAWN is not closing down. FFAWN is working as quickly as possible with a new team of experts that includes a philanthropic consulting firm, a non-profit law firm, and a forensic accountant,” she continued. “Their goal is to get the Foundation back on track, rectify outstanding issues, and make good on all of FFAWN’s obligations.”

Blige also found a bright side to the situation. “The good news is that we have been in touch with the MJB Center in Yonkers and the scholarship program, and both are in good shape,” she said.

 

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top