Iyanla has finally spoken out about her 2018 clash with Tamar Braxton, saying she feels she was in the right but still has love for the singer. Everything started when Tamar expressed she felt “shamed” by Iyanla when the self-help guru was brought in during a 2018 episode of “Braxton Family Values.”
Tamar got major radio play and created a major cultural moment when she collabed with Future in 2014 for the unforgettable hit “Let Me Know.”
Iyanla was present to try helping Tamar repair her strained relationship with her four sisters, but Tamar didn’t want to dive into past wounds, and felt defensive due to a fear of being ganged up on. Then, Tamar was made even more uncomfortable by Iyanla bringing up Tamar’s childhood abuse. The singer later told Wendy Williams she felt “sexually shamed” by the direction in which Iyanla had steered the session.
Tamar called out Iyanla, who was a fixture of the Oprah Winfrey Network for 9 years, for being “disrespectful” while she accused Tamar of the same. Tamar’s mother Evelyn tried to deescalate things by asking Tamar to “calm down.”
Tamar felt so hurt by the way Iyanla seemed to put her on the spot that she took to social media to call the coach “fraud” and referred to her as “the devil.”
Iyanla Is Standing by Her Actions While Saying She Still Has Love for Tamar
Iyanla has not said much about her clash with Tamar in the years that have passed since the awkward on camera moment. But in an October 21 appearance on Jason Lee’s podcast, that changed.
Lee brought up the topic by emphasizing how much Iyanla helps “women through things, and people who are struggling,” before asking how she felt about Tamar’s position that Iyanla shamed her.
Iyanla replied, “That is absolutely not true. I love her and she’s not well. That’s all I’ve got to say. But I also wasn’t going to allow her to spew that with people that I knew and loved,” before doubling down, “It’s absolutely not true.”
Iyanla also confirmed to Lee that she was invited into the situation by the Braxtons. “I want this to be very clear. I went on their show. They did not come on mine. They invited me onto their show, the Braxtons.”
Lee then asked Iyanla how she stepped in to help but ended up becoming “the bad guy,” to which Iyanla replied she believes that happens “when someone is not well.” She clarified, “When I say not well, I mean imbalanced. Out of alignment. Out of touch.” Iyanla then shared that she believes Tamar was not only in that state at the time of the clash, but still is.
She went on, “I don’t mind being the bad guy. If that’s what it’s gonna take for you to get clear about your imbalance.”
“Everything that I do, Jason, everything, and I mean this. I do it in service to God. So when people come for me, they’ve got to come through God.”
She added that she doesn’t take criticism personally.
Tamar Braxton Bravely Spoke Out About Surviving a Suicide Attempt in 2020
In July 2020, Tamar was rushed to the hospital after attempting suicide by overdose at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Los Angeles.
She later confirmed the news to her fans via a social media statement in which she wrote that she’d begun to feel tortured by the demands of starring on television and feeling under pressure to deliver ratings.
She ended the lengthy message on a hopeful note, saying, “I am learning to grow through my pain instead of looking for an escape,” and declared she was “on an irreversible path to healing.”
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Iyanla Addresses Longstanding Tension With Tamar Braxton: ‘I Love Her’