A former member of the Pussycat Dolls has claimed that the girl group operated as a ‘prostitution ring’, with the members forced into sex with entertainment executives.
Kaya Jones, 33, made the explosive accusation in a serious of tweets on Saturday and Sunday, accusing managers and executives of taking advantage of the group she joined as a teenager in 2003.
‘My truth. I wasn’t in a girl group. I was in a prostitution ring. Oh & we happened to sing & be famous. While everyone who owned us made the $,’ Jones wrote.
‘How bad was it? people ask – bad enough that I walked away from my dreams, bandmates & a 13 million dollar record deal. We knew we were going to #1,’ she continued.
Kaya Jones (far left) is seen with the Pussycat Dolls in 2003. She now claims the members of the group were forced to sleep with music industry executives and managers
Jones, pictured in 2015, quit the Pussycat Dolls in 2006 and now says the toxic sexual demands were her reason for leaving
After just two years as a member, Jones in 2005 quit the group, which was assembled by choreographer Robin Antin under a deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records.
The Pussycat Dolls are one of the best-selling girl groups of all times, selling 53million records worldwide before their breakup in 2010.
Jones’ startling allegations come as mounting sexual harassment and assault allegation rock the entertainment industry, most notably regarding film producer Harvey Weinstein.
She said that part of being in the girl group was being told to sleep with executives.
‘To be apart of the team you must be a team player. Meaning sleep with whoever they say. If you dont they have nothing on you to leverage,’ Jones said.
‘Yes I said leverage. Meaning after they turn you out or get you hooked on drugs they use it against you. Correct. Victimizing the victim again,’ she continued.
The members of the Pussycat Dolls are seen in 2007, after Jones quit the group
‘Robin & the record label made all the money. We as Pussycat Dolls were paid $500 a week. While we were being abused & used. Fact!’ she wrote.
Jones said that she had tried speaking up to the entertainment press in the past but had been brushed aside by journalists in the thrall of Hollywood and music industry titans.
She performed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on October 1 shortly before a gunman killed 58 and injured hundreds, and said the experience galvanized her to speak out publicly.
‘I finally feel the weight I’ve held in my heart lifted & mending. It’s been hard to hold lies in for people who broke me. No more,’ Jones wrote.
‘I hope more women & men come out & share their abuse & pain. We must shine a light on this issue in the entertainment business,’ she said.
The Pussycat Dolls perform on the runway at the Pussycat Dolls by Robin Antin Fall 2008 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week held at Smashbox Studios
