When Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men logged onto Instagram Oct. 21, he did so with a message: He’s ready to push back on a claim made by Chilli of TLC regarding their collaboration history with Babyface (born Kenneth Edmonds). The post, which quickly went viral, challenges Chilli’s account of how the groups interacted in their heyday.
The Disputed Claim
In a resurfaced 2017 interview clip, Chilli suggested that a male harmonizing group “had great success with Babyface,” and then later “said, ‘We don’t need Babyface,’ and that was the end.” Though she did not name Boyz II Men explicitly, the context pointed clearly in that direction. In response, Morris fired back: “I’m just saying … what Chilli’s & Dallas are speaking on, concerning our friend Babyface… IS A LIE.”
Morris continued, “Chilli was nowhere around our organization … and we were nowhere around theirs; besides going on tour.” He underlined that Babyface “has been on every project since.” He then publicly declared his intention to reach out to Babyface directly: “I’ll call Babyface tomorrow and see if he remembers the group saying ‘we didn’t need him.’”
Boyz II Men and TLC share a long touring history, including the 1995 Budweiser Superfest Tour and a 2022 double-bill at the Hollywood Bowl. Their paths often crossed, but Morris argues that their corporate or creative worlds remained separate. “We toured together, but that doesn’t give you the full view of what was happening inside our group or our relationship with Babyface,” he said.
By contrast, Chilli’s comments presented the situation as cautionary: the idea that a group might rise with a partner like Babyface, then “go it alone” and falter because of that decision. Whether Boyz II Men made such a decision is what Morris is publicly rejecting.
Neither Chilli nor Babyface has publicly responded to Morris’s posts. Morris said he simply wants “our point to be heard just like theirs.” He clarified: “I’m not saying we were perfect and everybody loved us. I’m just saying … what Chilli’s & Dallas are speaking on … IS A LIE.” The outcome may hinge on whether Babyface backs Morris’s version.
Industry watchers say such headline-grabbing disputes reflect lasting sensitivities around credit, legacy and reportage in the 1990s R&B era. Morris’s decision to publicly dispute Chilli suggests he feels the claims threaten the group’s narrative—and perhaps their relationship with Babyface.