A former member of the Pussycat Dolls has voiced a series of explosive allegations about the pop group, sensationally claiming the hitmakers were a front for a "prostitution ring".
Singer Kaya Jones, 33, quit the Pussycat Dolls in 2005, just as the group of singers and dancers were transitioning fromtheir origins as an LA-based burlesque collective to a polished pop act.
Shortly after she left, their debut single Don't Cha became a massive hit, shooting the group to worldwide fame and some 54 million record sales.
My truth.I wasn’t in a girl group. I was in a prostitution ring.Oh & we happened to sing & be famous. While everyone who owned us made the $
"My truth. I wasn't in a girl group. I was in a prostitution ring. Oh & we happened to sing & be famous. While everyone who owned us made the $," Jones tweeted over the weekend.
"How bad was it? People ask - bad enough that I walked away from my dreams, my band mates & a 13 million dollar record deal. We knew we were going to be #1."
Jones also called out an unnamed "den mother" of the group, writing, "I want the den mother from hell to confess why another 1 of her girl group girls committed suicide? Tell the public how you mentally broke us."
Singer Kaya Jones arrives at The Bank Nightclub at the Bellagio to celebrate the release of her album The Chrystal Neria on October 24, 2015 in Las Vegas. Photo / Getty
Choreographer and entrepreneur Robin Antin founded the Pussycat Dolls, and after that group's breakup later formed fellow girl group G.R.L. That group's lead member, Simone Battle, took her own life while their breakthrough single Ugly Heart was riding high in the charts. There has been no confirmation that Jones was referring to either Antin or Battle.
"To be a part of the team you must be a team player. Meaning sleep with whoever they say. If you don't they have nothing on you to leverage ... Yes I said leverage. Meaning after they turn you out or get you hooked on drugs they use it against you. Correct. Victimising the victim again," Jones continued.
"Why don't we report it? Because we are all abused! I personally have been warned if I tell I will ... you know end up dead or no more career."
She also claimed the group made very little money for their efforts.
"Robin & the record label made all the money. We as Pussycat Dolls were paid $500 a week. While we were being abused & used. Fact!"
The Pussycat Dolls performing in Las Vegas. Photo / Getty
Jones isn't the only former Pussycat Doll to speak candidly about her time in the group - Kimberly Wyatt, who was a band member through the height of the band's success, said this year that she was left feeling "anorexic" by controlling record producers.
"I was so conscious of my weight while in Pussycat Dolls," she told The Mirror.
"Record producers constantly watched us to make sure we weren't putting on weight, and we were made to be like anorexic aliens," she explained.
The Pussycat Dolls disbanded in 2009 after two albums and a string of hit singles - but are expected to announce plans for a reunion soon, with an official website set up last week. It's unclear which members - including lead vocalist Nicole Scherzinger - will be involved.
