Singer Tionne Watkins files for bankruptcy

Entertainment news websites are reporting that singer Tionne Watkins, better known by her stage name of T-Boz, has filed for bankruptcy. In her court filings, the singer claims that she is unable to pay her bills because of her ex-husband’s failure to make his court-ordered child support payments.

Watkins rose to fame as a member of the singing group TLC, which had several hit songs in the 1990s and early 2000s. The group is best known for their song “Waterfalls,” which continues to make money for Watkins and her bandmates. According to her bankruptcy filing, the singer still earns about $1,200 each month in royalties for “Waterfalls” and other TLC songs.

In sum, Watkins earns about $11,700 each month from song royalties and other sources of income. She has monthly expenses of $8,821, which should mean that she can remain financially sound and out of bankruptcy. However, her bankruptcy filing revealed that she owes approximately $768,000 to creditors, most of which is from mortgages on her Atlanta-area home, which is worth an estimated $1.2 million.

Watkins claims that she would be able to pay her bills and stay out of debt were it not for the $250,000 in unpaid child support that she is currently owed by her ex-husband, rapper Mack 10. The couple was divorced in 2004 after having one daughter together in 2000.

This is the second bankruptcy filing in which Watkins has been involved. During the 1990s, TLC was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of contracts with various producers and record label executives that had the singers taking home minimal proceeds from the sales of their records.

Source: Syracuse.com, “TLC singer T-Boz files for bankruptcy; rapper Bow Wow owes IRS $91,105,” Geoff Herbert, Nov. 28, 2011