Brandy and Monica both established themselves as hit R&B singers in the late 90s. But under the surface, they were secretly feuding.
Their song The Boy is Mine only fueled the fire of their supposed hatred for each other. Things came to a head at the 1998 VMAs when Monica reportedly punched Brandy right before their performance.
Now the truth of what really happened is coming out, and it’s honestly hard to believe.
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The media has always reported on feuds between famous singers, particularly when they’re between young women. Brandy and Monica were no exception. They were young women coming up in the R&B world; it wasn’t long before comparisons were made about them.
Dallas Austin co-wrote The Boy Is Mine and shared the inside scoop during an interview with VLAD TV about what actually went down between the two performers. So, according to him, the pair didn’t like each other right from the get-go. Monica thought that Brandy was too wholesome and proper, and Brandy wasn’t impressed with her either.
Their Song Together Only Made The Situation Worse
But did you know that the girls had never even met before they recorded their single? Buzzfeed reported that the idea to collaborate on a track was originally Brandy’s, as an attempt to put an end to the rumors that they were enemies. The media was already pitting them against each other, but when they released a track about being in love with the same man, it just made things even more heated.
According to Dallas, the girls didn’t even record the song together. Brandy went into a studio in L.A., and Monica put down her vocals in Atlanta. So, if they supposedly couldn’t stand each other, how did they even make a music video together?
Well, in a 1998 interview, Brandy acted like they had an awesome experience on set together. But Dallas gave us a glimpse into how things really were behind the scenes.
Apart from that short and controlled interaction they had for the music video, the pair reportedly didn’t end up spending time together again until the 1998 VMAs. They needed to do a rehearsal together before the live show, and it soon became clear that they weren’t just acting like they disliked each other for the sake of the song. They truly didn’t want to be around each other.
According to The Source, the girls reportedly both told Angie Martinez that they’d fought at the awards show during their interviews on Hot 97. And once again, Dallas confirmed that things got super ugly between them.
Brandy and Monica Have Remained Silent on the Reason for Their Fight
I mean, it’s just crazy to think about, right? Imagine being there to see two of the biggest R&B stars of the time, who had a number-one song together that even won a Grammy, getting into a full-blown fistfight!
Being the professionals that they were, they still performed the song later that evening for the whole world to see. Dallas said that it all worked out because, in the song, they were supposed to be at war with each other. Nobody could tell that Monica had just punched Brandy.
But the question is, why did Monica do it? Both of them have hinted at things over the years, but neither has come out to say what their fight was really about.
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The Source reported that according to BrownSista, the scene where Brandy put her hand in Monica’s face was supposed to be edited out at Monica’s request. When it wasn’t, one thing led to another, and Monica took it out on Brandy with her fist.
Dallas, who witnessed the drama, explained to VLAD TV that he knew Monica was going to say something to Brandy. He just wasn’t expecting it to go that far.
The Singers Were Teenagers at the Time
I don’t know if we’ll ever know the exact thing that made Monica want to get physical. That’s between the two of them. But we can guess what led to that explosive moment.
It was probably a build-up of things. The media had been pitting them against each other from long before they even met. So, they were probably made to feel like they were competing against each other, and there was only room for one at the top.
Let’s also not forget just how young they were. Brandy was 18 and Monica was only 17.
The Source pointed out that the public started to compare their voices and their looks, too. The website noted that Brandy had darker skin and fuller lips than Monica, which sometimes she was praised for. Other times, it meant that she was made fun of.
Brandy had a more family-friendly image and came from a wholesome Christian background. Whereas Monica became known as the girl who had to cover up her tattoos.
In his interview, Dallas also revealed that when they were working on The Boy Is Mine, Monica had been going through a lot of stuff. She was at a place in her life where was trying to find herself.
By the time they got to that performance at the VMAs, there was so much tension between them that it probably didn’t take much for Monica to snap at Brandy.
Brandy and Monica Went Head-to-Head in 2020
In 2020, the pair were once again going up against each other. But this time, it was a friendly competition, participating in Verzuz, the webcast series produced by Timbaland. Brandy and Monica were to go head-to-head on Instagram Live over a three-hour session.
Before their battle, Monica spoke to ET. Hungry to know what really went down between them, 1.4 million viewers tuned in to see the episode. So what did they reveal about the reason for their infamous feud?
Well, unfortunately, not that much.
Monica explained that the way they’d been talked about in the press, back in the 90s, made it difficult for them to connect with each other.
Pitchfork reported that there was a little bit of a tense moment between them when Monica began talking about her notoriously hot temper back in the day. She confessed that there was a time when she was kicking in doors and smacking chicks.
When Brandy, speaking from personal experience, joked that she sure was, Monica changed her tone and asked her why she would say that. But Brandy quickly said that she was trying to make a joke and that she was trying to work on her comedy.
Monica lightened up the situation by saying they basically had a disagreement and then moved on from the subject. It was pretty clear that neither of them really wanted to get into it.
They did sing each other’s praise throughout the episode though. Monica told Brandy that she was a straight shooter. She really admired what Brandy had done musically, and what she’d had to endure personally. Brandy was just as nice to Monica.
Brandy Threw Shade on Social Media
During Verzuz, the competitors also revealed that they hadn’t seen each other for 8 years. The last time they’d met was in 2012 when they worked on a single together called It All Belongs to Me. At the time, a lot of people thought there might’ve been a reconciliation between them, but it turns out that they still weren’t exactly on the best terms.
According to The Source, Monica and Brandy were both huge fans of Whitney Houston. In a 2016 interview with Oprah, Monica said that she considered Whitney her fairy godmother.
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Brandy wasn’t going to let her get away with that comment because Whitney had actually played her fairy godmother in the 90s Cinderella movie. So, she quickly shared a photo of Whitney on Instagram and captioned it with: “I’m blessed enough to have been your friend, #FairyGodDaughter, and make history with you as my #FairyGodMother.”
So, I guess she was feeling a little salty after Monica’s comment.
Later that same year, Brandy was performing at Essence Festival, and she changed the lyrics to the duo’s song together so that she sang ‘The Song Is Mine’ instead. Which was kind of shady.
Since they made up on Verzuz and let bygones be bygones, the pair seem to be getting along better. There haven’t been any more shady moments between them, at least not publicly. So, maybe they’ve finally forgiven each other after their heated moment backstage at the VMAs all those years ago.
