If you’re of a certain age, you most likely remember the 2000s pop group the Pussycat Dolls, who were active from 2003 to 2010 and had a few hit songs like “Buttons” and “Don’t Cha.”
Since their disbanding, the Pussycat Dolls have made several attempts to reunite that haven’t ended up working out. In 2022, Nicole Scherzinger — easily the most famous member of the group — announced that their upcoming reunion tour was canceled, allegedly without notifying the other members.
There are plenty of pop groups from the late ’90s and ’00s that had rocky behind-the-scenes situations and questionable work conditions — and, according to a new interview from Nicole, the Pussycat Dolls were definitely one of those groups.
In an interview with the Times, Nicole expressed some gratitude for her time in the group, but she also acknowledged that it was far from easy being a Pussycat Doll.
“I’m really proud of the music that the Dolls made, and I’m very proud of the little mark that we made with our group,” she said. “But it was very difficult, because I was really learning about myself along the way.”
“It was such a difficult time, struggling and battling your own demons and issues and always being on the road, and they never allowed sleep in our schedule. I mean, it was just a recipe for disaster, to be honest with you.”
Nicole also specified that a lot of the working conditions the Pussycat Dolls were under couldn’t happen today, and for good reason. “They have rules set in place,” she said, “and, you know, it’s more of a woke community now. But it wasn’t like that when we were doing it.”
“It was just kind of like, ‘Work them to the bone until they’re passed out.’ It was just hard for me to sleep. I always had sleeping issues.”
What’s more, Nicole said that the group’s focus on dancing over singing made her insecure about her own body as well.
“A dancer’s body is the instrument; it’s beautiful. But I was a singer first. It was difficult for me in the beginning because I didn’t feel comfortable in my skin.”
Read the entire interview here.