Nicole Scherzinger scrambled to come up with a response when she was pressed on why the original Pussycat Dolls line-up is not part of the upcoming reunion during an appearance on the Today show.
Earlier this month, it was announced that three members of the six-piece group – Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts, and Kimberly Wyatt – are back together after 16 years and are heading on a huge global tour.
The news, however, prompted backlash from former member Carmit Bachar, who claimed she was left out of reunion talks. Jessica Sutta and Melody Thornton have also not returned.
On Friday’s episode of the Today show, co-host Craig Melvin left Scherzinger at a loss for words when he probed her over the line-up drama.
The presenter, who recently came under fire for his line of questions during an interview with Anya Taylor-Joy, asked: ‘Some former members of the Pussycat Dolls made headlines recently after they found out you were coming back as a trio, not as the original group.
‘How did you arrive at that decision?’
Visibly taken aback by the question, Scherzinger froze as she struggled to come up with a cohesive response.
‘Well, I mean, listen, we are just… we are like… we are so… as women today, I mean,’ she said.
Fellow Pussycat Dolls star Kimberly Wyatt, who was also in Studio 1A along with Ashley Roberts, then swooped in and said that the Pussycat Dolls’ line-up has been ‘ever-changing.’
‘This is what it looks like in 2026,’ she said.
‘You never know what comes next. We’ve got to protect our peace.
‘When something like the Pussycat Dolls has so much history, we have ruptured in the past and right now, we are repairing and sort of on the same page with that.’
By the time Wyatt, 44, had given her answer, Scherzinger had formulated what she wanted to say.
‘We have so much love and respect for all of the women that have been part of the legacy,’ she said. ‘And once a doll, always a doll.’
Pussycat Dolls stars Scherzinger, Roberts and Wyatt announced their comeback earlier this month.
Bachar and Sutta said they were both blindsided by the reunion and were not asked to take part.
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Taking to Instagram, Bachar, 51, reposted a video of the girl group’s former producer Eddie Serrano criticizing the three-piece reunion.
He said: ‘I’m here to talk about one thing… I have been very close friends to a lot of Pussycat Dolls, Carmit you know you’re my sister.
‘I’m very upset about this Pussycat Doll “reunion”… I do have a problem when I see my home girls, who were very instrumental in building the brand, not a part of this “reunion.”
‘We need to see them as a unit, not just as three girls that’s not the Pussycat Dolls, that’s just the “Pussy” without the “Dolls.”‘
Alongside the clip, the singer wrote: ‘Luv you.’
Sutta revealed she only found out about the reunion at the same time as the rest of the world.
Asked by a fan if she was going to meet up with the rest of the Pussycat Dolls, Jessica replied: ‘No, I’m not.’
‘They have been planning it for a year and blatantly didn’t ask Carmit and I. We are finding it all out at the same time you are.’
The Pussycat Dolls first broke up in 2010, with Wyatt saying at the time she was ‘unable to grow creatively’ in the group.
Scherzinger went on to launch a solo career and the group reunited as a five-piece without Thornton in 2019, releasing the single React.
They intended to go on a reunion tour in 2020 but it was cancelled due to Covid.
