Chilli shares update on T-Boz’s sickle cell recovery, vows to keep performing for her

The TLC singer asked fans to support her longtime bandmate as she continues recovering from a sickle cell crisis that has kept her offstage for weeks.

TLC singer Chilli has promised to keep performing for her bandmate T-Boz as she recovers from a sickle cell crisis that has kept her offstage for weeks. The latest update follows T-Boz’s hospitalization during the tour in August and years of speaking publicly about sickle cell and how the condition has affected her career.

During an October 9 stop on TLC’s “It’s Iconic” tour in Las Vegas, Chilli told the audience that Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins needed more time to regain her health. Complex reported that the singer asked fans to support her longtime bandmate while she continued handling TLC’s performances alone.

“Sometimes, you have a crisis, and she did this time,” Chilli told the crowd. She said Watkins was taking the time needed to recover and that she would keep holding things down for her sister. Chilli also invited the audience to join her in singing and supporting Watkins during the show.

Watkins has missed performances since August 28, when she was absent from a concert at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. Her manager, Bill Diggins, later confirmed that she had been hospitalized following a sickle cell crisis. He said recovery could take days or weeks and that her health would determine when she could return to the stage.

The group continued its joint tour with Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, with Chilli performing TLC’s songs without Watkins. Chilli’s message emphasized giving her bandmate time to heal. No public return date has been announced for Watkins.

Watkins, 56, has spoken openly about living with sickle cell disease since childhood. In a previous interview, she recalled being told at age seven that she would not live beyond 30 or have children. She went on to become a Grammy-winning performer with TLC and a mother of two.

The tour’s published schedule ended October 11 with a concert in Concord, California.