<p id=”par-1_59″>In 1999, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/beyonce/?swcfpc=1″>Beyoncé</a> found herself the target of backlash after former <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/destinys-child-how-much-are-the-original-members-worth-today.html/”>members of Destiny’s Child</a> sued the group. They ultimately settled the lawsuits, but as the unofficial center of the group, Beyoncé began to receive negative attention. She said this was painful to go through, and made it difficult for her to get out of bed in the morning.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-beyonce-struggled-as-a-result-of-public-backlash”>Beyoncé struggled as a result of public backlash</h2>
<p id=”par-2_53″>Destiny’s Child members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson were <a href=”http://v”>pushed out of the group</a> and quickly replaced. They later filed lawsuits against Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Matthew Knowles, Beyoncé’s father and the group’s manager. The lawsuit accused the trio of breach of contract, defamation, libel, and fraud. They settled the lawsuit in 2002.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Destinys-Child-2.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kelly Rowland, Beyonce, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson wear black and pose together outdoors.” class=”wp-image-3780177″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson | Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_41″>Sources have said that Luckett and Roberson were primarily frustrated with Matthew Knowles, but Beyoncé found herself <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/beyonces-first-scandal-wasnt-the-elevator-fight-between-jay-z-and-solange.html/”>bearing the brunt</a> of public backlash. People labeled her a diva and described her as cutthroat. She said this was not easy on her.</p>
<p id=”par-4_59″>“I am not a diva and never have been,” she said in 2003 (per <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.spin.com/2021/01/beyonce-july-2006-cover/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Spin Magazine</a>). “I would never say that I was grateful for the controversy, because it really was hell, but it certainly kept us newsworthy. I just remember being unable to get out of bed while it was all happening, and just crying the whole time.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-said-she-loved-being-in-a-group”>She said she loved being in a group</h2>
<p id=”par-5_26″>After Destiny’s Child went their separate ways, Beyoncé went on to have a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/beyonces-deer-in-the-headlights-reaction-best-country-album-grammy-win-gets-broken-down-by-body-language-expert.html/”>tremendous solo career</a>. She said that she loved working in a group, though.</p>
<p id=”par-6_20″>“I do love sisterhood,” she told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/aug/18/urban.popandrock” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Guardian</a>. “I loved that being in a group was about compromise and sacrifice.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_20″>She enjoyed the creative challenge of collaboration and having to determine what was best for the group as a whole.</p>
<p id=”par-8_52″>“All of us — and not just me, this is about Kelly and Michelle also — whatever was best for the group, no matter whether it was best for us individually, would let something go,” she said. “That element of compromise and sacrifice taught me a lot about myself and about friendship.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-beyonce-said-the-backlash-made-her-more-cautious”>Beyoncé said the backlash made her more cautious</h2>
<p id=”par-9_18″>After the backlash from the lawsuit, Beyoncé said she became more cautious of how she presented herself publicly. </p>
<p id=”par-10_30″>“I’m very conscious of what I say to people and how I treat them,” she said. “Maybe <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/beyonce-virgo-savage-megan-thee-stallion.html/”>it’s the Virgo</a> in me, but I tend to analyze myself a lot.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Beyonce-name-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Beyonce wears a black and white dress with white elbow-length gloves. She holds a microphone.” class=”wp-image-3779637″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Beyonce | Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-11_21″>She carefully considered her answers in interviews and analyzed all of her public interactions. She wanted to avoid a bad reputation.</p>
<p id=”par-12_66″>“After this talk with you, I will walk away and immediately recap it,” she told the interviewer, adding, “I will try to work out what your intentions were with your questions, and what my intentions were with my answers. I’ve met a lot of horrible and nasty celebrities — and, no, I won’t tell you who — but I don’t ever want to become one myself.”</p>