Destiny's Child Not Breaking Up

Mathew Knowles, manager for Destiny's Child, is disturbed by the latest rumors of the group's break-up and issued the following statement:

"There has been a flurry of erroneous statements following this year's 2001 Billboard Awards. I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight. DESTINY'S CHILD HAS NO INTENTION OF BREAKING UP! This malicious and unsubstantiated rumor stems from negligent journalism, which includes a lack of fact checking. No one ever confirmed with either Columbia Records or myself that the rumors of a break-up were true. In reality, the ladies of Destiny's Child did talk of taking a 'break' at the recent Billboard Awards, but never used the word 'break-up.' They merely spoke of their individual projects to the press, which is, quite frankly, old news."

"The primary reason for the much-needed break is due to the fact that Destiny's Child has been on radio for over two and a half years non-stop with hits such as 'Bills, Bills, Bills,' 'Say My Name,' and 'Independent Women.' The ladies, Columbia Records and Music World Management all agreed that the sound of Destiny's Child must be preserved, thus allowing each member to explore their creative individuality, ranging from gospel to neo-soul to pop."

"The disheartening part of all of this is the fact that this is the second year in a row the ladies have won Billboard's 'Artist of the Year' award and it was completely and utterly lost in all of the vicious rumors of a break-up!"

"Destiny's Child has a number of commitments as a group in 2002, which includes The American Music Awards, Stellar Awards, NAACP Awards, 2002 World Tour, just to name a few."