Alright, old school Destiny’s Child fans. This one is for you.

Say what you will about Michelle Williams, but I think that the chick is awesome. I’ve always had a thing for Williams. Perhaps it’s because I’ve always seen her as a bit of the underdog of the group. Oh, how I remember when she was brought on way back in the early 2000’s as one of the replacements for two of the group’s original members. If anyone can remember correctly, it was Beyonce who was doing all of the singing back then. Williams didn’t really get a chance to shine until she was given the opportunity to display her vocal talents — usually being tasked with singing the bridge of such hits as “Survivor” and my personal favorite, “Bootylicious.”

Now, I’m not even going to front — her voice is a little different from Beyonce and Kelly’s which is fine by me. Hell, this column is about diversity, you know. Michelle Williams has the kind of sultry raspy voice that could do wonders for uplifting inspirational songs or entertaining jazz numbers. In my humble opinion, her turn on “Stand Up for Love” eclipsed both Beyonce and Kelly’s verses. Still, that doesn’t seem to keep the haters from talking negatively about her.

Last week, I wrote a column on Hispanic actress Justina Machado and how it pays to be an actor and not a celebrity. I mentioned how celebrities can attract a crap ton of negative attention even when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. Well, I think this is what may have happened with Michelle Williams. When you’re in the spotlight as much as she was during her Destiny’s Child era, sometimes you can get disapproving attention from downbeat fans … or even unruly singers such as Keyshia Cole who took to Twitter to negatively bash Williams for her performance during the Super Bowl.

Who the hell is she to talk?

I mean, seriously: Was that tweet necessary? Maybe she was drunk. Perhaps she was high. Or both. Either way, the comment was uncalled for and I feel it kind of reinforces this negative stereotype of women being catty … especially women of color. I’m looking at you, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey! As for the remaining Williams bashers — ya’ll ’bout to get off my dawg. She was on stage. We weren’t. She got paid a crap ton of cash. We didn’t. Hmm … next paragraph.

Growing up, I used to have aspirations of making it big in Hollywood, but now, when I hear stories like Cole’s negative tweet, I rethink those aspirations. You have to have tough skin to be a performer and I’m sure Williams does. It’s nice to know that her fans rallied in her defense. What people need to realize is that everyone is different. Clearly the woman has talent if Beyonce chose her to be in the group. So, what’s the big deal anyway? Instead of hating, shouldn’t we just give Williams her props? If you won’t then I certainly will. Way to go, Michelle! It was great to see you back on stage! Now go cash that damn check, sistah.

And let me hold twenty dollars.

Do you enjoy reading Clacking in Color? Jaylen sure as hell hopes so. Keep up with his opinions and ponderings by following him on Twitter @thesuperflynerd!

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