Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas shared a cute video of herself dancing with her boyfriend while on vacation in Jamaica on Feb. 20. However, the video went left after Chili responded to a fan about her skin complexion.
The 52-year-old is currently dating 44-year-old “Mrs. Doubtfire” actor Matthew Lawrence, and the duo each shared a video of them dancing to “Jiggy Woogie (feat. DLegend)” by Babylawd on Instagram. After a fan complimented Lawrence’s dance moves, calling his woman “chocolate,” Chilli corrected the fan and replied, “Caramel.”
“Ok Matthew!! He got some chocolate now he got the moves!! I approve!!,” wrote the fan. Chili replied, “@upscale bosslady Caramel [wink emoji, star-struck emoji].”
After many noted how Chilli seemed to reject the “chocolate” title, the “Creep” singer defended herself in the comment section.
“It’s almost like she didn’t like being called chocolate but she is chocolate and chocolate is beautiful. Never be ashamed of that,” wrote the fan, prompting Chilli to reply, “@heysanh chocolate is beautiful also…never said it wasn’t. But without a tan, I’m caramel…..what’s the harm in being truthful? Good grief.”
Fans online did not agree with Chilli’s assessment and replied on Instagram and X, formally Twitter. Several accused the “Baby-Baby-Baby” singer of being a colorist in the comments.
“Finding out Chili think she light skin gave me a real good ki,” wrote one fan. “Literally the darkest member in tlc what be the problem.”
Another fan replied, “You chocolate girl. You’re the darkest in the group even without a tan. They are caramel not you.”
“Colorism and being color struck in 2024 is crazy AF,” another wrote. “So ppl arguing about Chili from TLC being chocolate or caramel. She says caramel.”
“Chilli has always had this mindset,” added another. “She thinks this way because she has loose curls and baby hair. The caramel complexion is not in the room with us.”
Chilli also faced backlash after Vietnamese and Black actress Karrueche Tran suggested that she looked like the Grammy Award-winning artist in a photo, and Chilli agreed. Chilli is also of Black and South Asian descent, but fans pushed back due to her previously denying that she looked like Jermaine Dupri‘s daughter, Shaniah Mauldin, who is dark-skinned.
After several fans compared the women back in 2019, Chilli replied, “U don’t know what I look like.”
Colorism claims aside, it would appear that Black don’t crack regardless, as several fans also noted Chilli’s youthful appearance in the video. One fan wrote, “She looks so good she’s beautiful. How old is she now?” Another wrote, “I love you guys together!! Also, how in the heck does Chilli not age?!?!”
Chilli and Lawrence have been dating since 2022. Although they prefer to manage how often they share videos of their relationship, Chilli has been in high-profile relationships with the likes of Nick Cannon and “Confessions” singer Usher.
