Heavy 'Dancing With the Stars" winner made a statement.
Nicole Scherzinger has a new attitude. The Pussycat Dolls singer turned “Dancing With the Stars” champion debuted a surprising new single in March 2023 – and it featured a dig at her former band, which was founded by choreographer Robin Antin.
In a YouTube video of Scherzinger’s performance at Sydney World Pride held in Australia in March 2023, Scherzinger performed a new song called “Freedom.” In the song lyrics, she reintroduced herself to fans and sang, “I’m not that little doll you knew.”
“She paid her dues, Now she owns herself,” Scherzinger continued. Later in the song, she declared that she has “a new attitude,” adding, “I’m through working for you … B***, I just woke up redefined.”
While she issued a diss to her former band’s founder with her song, Scherzinger performed at least two Pussycat Dolls hits, “Don’t Cha” and “When I Grow Up” during the WorldPride show, according to Pop Crush.
Fans Reacted to Nicole Scherzinger’s Harsh Lyrics
According to Page Six, the song “Freedom” will be released later this year, but fans had a lot to say about it now. In a series of comments on YouTube, some fans questioned the shady song.
“Damn…so this is a diss track?” one commenter asked. “It’s s tacky. Never bite the hands that feed you. She hasn’t learn after all these years,” another wrote.
“Oh my! The lyrics is somehow shade to Robin Antin!” another wrote.
Nicole Scherzinger is Embroiled in a Lawsuit Against Robin Antin
GettyChoreographer Robin Antin attends Samsung Galaxy Owners Lounge at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2014 on April 13, 2014 in Indio, California.
Scherzinger joined the Pussycat Dolls in 2003. Early on, she was uncomfortable with the group’s burlesque image due to her conservative Christian background. She previously told The Guardian she struggled to get past her concerns during auditions. Once she joined the group — which also included Ashley Roberts, Carmit Bachar, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt, and Melody Thornton — she became its most recognizable star. The group split in 2010, but reunited briefly nearly a decade later.
In a 2019 interview with E! News, Scherzinger addressed the possibility of a reunion tour with her former bandmates.
“I cannot confirm those rumors,” she admitted at the time. “I love my girls. I miss touring with them. We had the best times together. But I can’t confirm anything right now.”
The group did go on to release the 2020 comeback single, “React.” But according to Rolling Stone, that same year, group founder Antin hit Scherzinger with a lawsuit alleging that Scherzinger sabotaged the reunion tour deal after expressing large demands for pay and creative control.
In a statement to E! News, Scherzinger’s attorney, Howard King, called Antin’s claims “ludicrous and false” and accused her of trying to divert blame for the stalled reunion tour. Scherzinger filed a cross-complaint claiming that Antin mismanaged and “breached her duties and obligations” to the Pussycat Dolls through “waste and fraud.”
According to Page Six, in January 2022, Scherzinger took to social media to announce that the Pussycat Dolls tour dates “had to be canceled” due to the COVID pandemic. She then went on to issue a farewell to the group. Soon after, Carmit Bachar and Jessica Sutta posted a joint statement to reveal that was the first they were learning of the tour being permanently scrapped.
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