At the height of The Pussycat Dolls' music career, they became one of the most successful girl groups of all time after selling more than 55 million albums worldwide. Considering how wildly successful The Pussycat Dolls were, it has been shocking to see the group mostly disappear from the spotlight even as the members still lead fascinating lives.
Easily the most famous member of The Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger has been a trendsetter in the past. Scherzinger hasn't been able to move past her Pussycat Dolls' past, however, as the group's breakup has led to continuous issues for her.
Why Did The Pussycat Dolls Breakup?
Throughout the mid to late-2000s, The Pussycat Dolls released a slew of hit songs. At that time, songs like "Don't Cha", "Buttons", "Stickwitu", "Beep", "When I Grow Up", and "I Hate This Part" were all staples of the radio.
Given how successful The Pussycat Dolls were, it took many fans by surprise when one member after another left the group. Then, The Pussycat Dolls completely disbanded which left fans wondering why the members of the girl group went their separate ways.
Since Nicole Scherzinger was always the most famous member of The Pussycat Dolls, it makes sense she was the first to give an explanation for why the group broke up. According to what Sherzinger told Ryan Seacrest, other members of the group wanted to pursue other opportunities.
“A couple of the girls have left the group because they want to do their own projects and stuff. It’s up to them what they want to do, and I just think, whatever makes them happy, we’ve been at it for a strong six years. It’s not easy. I love it, and I am grateful for it. But I think that it’s just time for people to do their own thing.”
Related: The Truth About David Lee Roth's Feud With Kiss Frontman, Gene Simmons
In the years since The Pussycat Dolls broke up, other members of the girl group have commented on why they disbanded. Based on those statements, there is no doubt that the other members of The Pussycat Dolls blame the group's management for forcing them to live in Sherzinger's shadow.
When Ashley Roberts competed on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2012, she spoke about what it was like to be one of The Pussycat Dolls. Roberts expressly blamed The Pussycat Dolls' management for the group breaking up because they held most of the members back.
"Even in the group I wasn’t allowed to talk, we were told to be quiet. Only Nicole was allowed to talk, we would occasionally pitch in." After being asked if being forced to be silent drove her nuts, Roberts replied, "Are you serious? Why do you think the band broke up? U2 are still together and they split everything down the middle."
During an interview, former The Pussycat Dolls member Kimberly Wyatt spoke about why she decided to leave the group.
"Ultimately I think that happiness is the most important thing in life and I think that once I started to get to know myself more and more I was like, 'You know, I don't think that happiness is within this group right now.'" Wyatt then went on to say that the reason she couldn't find happiness in the group was "variables off stage" which implied management was the problem.
Melody Thornton once remarked she was happy when The Pussycat Dolls broke up because she was upset that she was forced to be a dancer instead of a singer in the group. "I was look 'good, that's over!'' I hate to say that but I was [glad]."
Related: Britney Spears Best Songs Reveal The Truth About Her Horrendous Experience In The Music Industry
Thornton continued, "For me, I'm primarily a vocalist and a lot of people don't know that and so I got into the group and they said 'you're gonna be dancing' and I was like 'I can't dance!' And it was a really difficult time for me so when it was over I was like 'great, next chapter."
Of all the former members of The Pussycat Dolls, only two of them have disputed the idea that there was drama that revolved around Scherzinger being the sole focus of the group. In 2022, Kimberly Wyatt disputed the idea that the members of the group have feuded with Scherzinger.
“There’s no feud with Nicole – I’m friends with all the girls and I hold everyone in a wonderful space. I think women supporting women is so incredibly important. I really thought we were going to stand for that.”
In 2015, Scherzinger spoke to Wendy Williams about the group and claimed they remained close after the breakup.
“We weren’t always close, because we were together, and they didn’t even put sleep in our schedules. So, we were like a family. We got on each other’s nerves but now that time is passed we actually keep in touch and we’re close. You grow up! We’re women now, it’s all about the love. I keep in touch with most of them.”
Sherzinger's claim seems hard to believe given that in 2022 Carmit Bachar called her former bandmate out. Bachar went on Instagram to publicly ask Scherzinger to call off her fans.
"Kindly requesting you communicate to the multiple Scherzy fans that are harassing and bullying my child by tagging her and writing hateful comments about me under her posts to please STOP immediately. It is beyond disrespectful, dangerous and unbecoming.”
Why Nicole Scherzinger Can't Leave The Pussycat Dolls Drama Behind
After The Pussycat Dolls broke up, everyone expected big things to come from Nicole Scherzinger's solo career. Sadly for Scherzinger, her solo career never really took off with some people asking if her behavior behind the scenes was to blame for that.
If it wasn't bad enough that Sherzinger's career didn't take off, she has continued to have to deal with drama from her former girl group. In part, that is because Sherzinger's reputation has taken a hit every time a former member of The Pussycat Dolls has publicly complained about living in her shadow.
Worse yet, since it was announced that The Pussycat Dolls were reuniting for a tour that didn't happen, Scherzinger has been dogged by a legal battle.
In 2022, Scherzinger announced on Instagram that plans for The Pussycat Dolls reuniting were off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately after Sherzinger's announcement, Jessica Sutta and Carmit Bachar posted a joint statement on each of their Instagram accounts. In their statement, Sutta and Bachar stated they had no idea the reunion had been called off.
Related: Unprofessional Behavior Might Have Prevented Nicole Scherzinger From Having A Successful Solo Career
Not long after that back and forth, The Pussycat Dolls founder and manager Robin Antin took Scherzinger to court. According to Antin, Scherzinger signed an agreement to be part of The Pussycat Dolls' reunion before she walked away putting an end to the plans in the process.
Antin also claimed that Scherzinger refused to be part of the reunion unless she was given a majority share and complete creative control.
In response to Antin's lawsuit, Scherzinger's lawyers claimed The Pussycat Doll's manager didn't negotiate with the singer in good faith. Furthermore, Scherzinger's lawyers accused Antin of "mismanagement" and “defamatory efforts publicly to shift blame” for why the reunion tour was canceled.
In a separate filing, Scherzinger accused Antin of fraud and breaching their contract. In response to that filing, Antin's lawyers sent a statement to Rolling Stone “vehemently [denying Scherzinger's] allegations.”
As of the time of this writing, there is no way to know how these lawsuits will play out. What is clear, however, is that the legal battle is another reason why Scherzinger can't leave The Pussycat Dolls drama behind.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuobFdmbaledOhnGaopajAuq%2FArWSdp5yhwG6u0Z6YpK2gYruqr86lnGark52ys8bIp56eql2osKK6w5qjrGc%3D