“I had a lot of resentment about that,” the “Power” star admitted.

Naturi Naughton-Lewis says she’ll ‘never forget’ missing out on *Cheetah Girls *after being ousted from 3LW

"I had a lot of resentment about that," the "Power" star admitted.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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November 6, 2025 7:26 p.m. ET

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Naturi Naughton; 'Cheetah Girls' stars Kiely Williams, Sabrina Bryan, Raven-Symone, Adrienne Bailon. Credit:

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Bob D'Amico/Disney Channel/Courtesy of Everett

Naturi Naughton-Lewis is spilling the tea on some major *Cheetah Girls* lore.

The *Power* star, who was one-third of 3LW alongside Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, says there's a reason that she's the only member of the group who didn't star in the Disney Channel classic.

"*Cheetah Girls* was pitched to 3LW. Why do you think it's a girl group?" Naughton said during a visit to SiriusXM’s* Page Six Radi*o. "It was three girls and Raven-Symoné. Disney was developing a movie that they had a big plan for, and 3LW plus Raven were supposed to be in it."

The movie ultimately went forward with Raven-Symoné, Williams, Bailon-Houghton, and Sabrina Bryan as the four stars and members of the titular girl group. But according to Naughton, this was only the case because she was already on her way out of 3LW.

Raven-Symoné, Sabrina Bryan, Kiely Williams, and Adrienne Bailon in 'Cheetah Girls 2: When in Spain'.

Disney Channel / Courtesy: Everett

**"**I'll never forget, we had a meeting with Disney and we were supposed to go [with] the manager of the group. They told me after the fact that Disney is going to offer 3LW a deal to do a movie called *Cheetah Girls* with Raven-Symoné," she recalled. "I had already heard about it, but we were all supposed to be going to the meeting. The meeting happened without me. Then, they get back to the apartment. I'm like, 'Wait, so what?' They were like, 'Well, you're not gonna be in the group anymore,' and that was the beginning of the X-ing."

She added, "They already had told Disney, and then I think they got a replacement after I was officially kicked out, so yeah. I had a lot of resentment about that 'cause I was actually struggling."

Naughton clarified that her beef isn't with Bryan, who rounded out the cast after her exit and noted that in the end, it all worked out for the best.

"You know what I realized? God knew what he was doing because for me to go and play Lil' Kim, I think coming from *Cheetah Girls *would've been a stark reality for some," she said, referencing her role in 2009's *Notorious*.

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Radio host Danny Murphy agreed, pointing out that being associated with Disney Channel may have made it more difficult for her to land a role in the dark thriller "because they would've looked at you in the younger lens."

Echoing that thought, Naughton added, "It gave me a clean slate to just go, 'Yes, I was in 3LW and I'm grateful for that, but *Cheetah Girls *wasn't my blessing. It wasn't for me.'"

3LW attends the Move Against AIDS Party in December 2004, in New York City.

Thos Robinson/Getty

Representatives for Disney Channel did not immediately respond to *'*s request for comment.

Naughton has previously opened up about her tumultuous breakup with 3LW, a pop group that made waves after rising to fame after forming in 1999. The trio enjoyed a splashy debut, charting with singles like "No More" and "Plays Gon' Play." Naughton ultimately left the group in 2002, telling MTV at the time that it was due to management, growing tension between the members, and an alleged food fight that left her feeling "physically abused." The incident in question began with an argument that escalated when Williams allegedly threw a plate of chicken at her.

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During her Page Six Radio visit, Naughton mentioned that she has since "reconnected" with Bailon-Houghton, but made no mention of burying the hatchet with Williams.

"We had a dinner here in Brooklyn a year and a half or two years ago now, and just being able to sit and talk and realize like, 'Oh, you know, we were kids,' and the truth is the adults were the ones that were supposed to help protect and help us and keep us, so some of the decisions that were made weren't even ours to make," Naughton said. "So I think the healing started when I got a chance to really talk to Adrienne, reconnect with her, and we are now both wives and mothers.... Forgiveness is healing, so that's when it started for me, and now I can tap into 3LW and have a good time anytime. We even performed a little bit at her Thanksgiving, her party last year. We wound up doing 'No More' together."

Back in 2020, while fielding fan questions during a livestream, Williams clapped back when a fan asked if she had any plans to make amends with the former 3LW members.

"I don’t feel that I have anything to make amends for, especially as it relates to Adrienne," Williams replied, per US Weekly. "As far as Naturi goes, if there was ever a reason to apologize, all of that has been kind of overshadowed by the literal lies and really ugly stuff that she said about my mom and my sister. So no, not interested in that, sorry."**

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