Original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who left the R&B group in a huff two years ago, have settled their federal lawsuit against Beyoncé Knowles & Co. over a lyric in Destiny's Grammy-winning hit "Survivor."
In a joint statement Wednesday, the current and former Children acknowledged that "they have amicably resolved all of their outstanding differences and agreed to end all litigation." Details of the settlement are being kept all in the Destiny's family, however.
The suit, filed in February, accused the group and Sony Music of defamation for the alleged song slight and breach of contract for violationg a previous settlement reached when the two singers left the group in 2000. The complaint sought unspecified damages.
Luckett and Roberson were ticked over the line: "You thought that I'd be stressed without you/But I'm chillin'/You thought I wouldn't sell without you/Sold 9 million."
The pair claimed claimed the lyric caused them irreparable harm and also flouted the earlier agreement that forbade either side from dissing the other in public. Luckett and Roberson also accused the current members of Destiny's of making "deliberate and disparaging, defamatory factual misrepresentations" about the ex-singers while promoting the Survivor album in April 2001.
The "Survivor" track so offended Luckett and Roberson that they asked the court to bar the tune from being played on the radio or performed in concert by Destiny's Child.
Beyoncé Knowles, who cowrote "Survivor," insisted the song wasn't about her ex-bandmates, but rather was aimed at the naysayers who didn't believe the Houston-based trio would ever achieve stardom.
"I've had people from school who said we weren't going to make it. We had a label that dropped us," Knowles told the Associated Press. "For me, I have no problems with anybody...I was 17 when [Luckett and Roberson left]. It was a long time ago...It's silly."
The bad blood traces back to 1999, when Luckett and Roberson reportedly became unhappy with their treatment by Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé's father and guardian of the group's Kelly Rowland), who took control of the group after their original manager died in 1997.
The two singers became independent women the following year, after the completion of the group's prophetically titled second album, The Writing's on the Wall. They were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, who suddenly turned up in the video for "Say My Name" even though they didn't perform the song on the album. (Franklin dropped out a few months later, leaving DC with its current lineup.)
Luckett and Roberson sued the band and Matthew Knowles, eventually agreeing to an out-of-court settlement that stipulated neither side make "any public comments of a disparaging nature." They each reportedly pocketed $850,000 and relinquished all claims to Destiny's Child.
As for their latest lawsuit--which just happened to be filed on the same day as the Grammys when Destiny's Child won Best R&B Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals for, yes, "Survivor"--the ex-members say the settlement proves they did the right thing.
"They are happy at this point to put it all behind them," Warren M. Fitzgerald Jr., the attorney representing Luckett and Roberson, tells the Associated Press. "They do feel vindicated by the course of action they took."
Destiny's Child, meanwhile, remains on temporary hiatus after near constant touring and recording over the past three years. The break is giving the members time to pursue outside projects. Beyoncé makes her big-screen acting debut Friday costarring with Mike Myers' as the shagadelic Foxxy Cleopatra in New Line's Austin Powers in Goldmember.
And what kind of destiny is fated for Luckett and Roberson? The singers are now hoping people say their name as they try to get their careers rolling again with a group called Anjel.