Dawn Robinson, a founding member of the R&B girl-group En Vogue, recently shared that she has been experiencing homelessness, residing in her car for the past three years.
The 58-year-old singer told fans how she has fallen on hard times in a heartbreaking video posted to YouTube on Tuesday.
Her revelation comes shortly after her former band announced an upcoming European tour, expressing excitement about adding a new member to the group and referring to her as their ‘sister.’
But Dawn, who first quit the band in 1997, has a much less glamorous reality which she explained to fans.
Robinson explained, “‘If you guys were with me in 2020, I did around 105K interviews and during that time, I was living with my parents in [Las] Vegas, which was a positive experience until it turned challenging. While I love my mother, Barbara Alexander, she started directing a lot of her frustrations towards me.”
‘I was her target all the time and I was like, “I can’t deal with this.” Like, I respect her too much. I didn’t understand it I still don’t, It hurt me.’
The eight-time Grammy nominee’s manager offered her to stay at his $1,700/month apartment in Los Angeles, but there was ‘not enough room’ for her since they both owned dogs (her 16-year-old dog Max has since passed away).
‘So it turned into, “Okay, I’m going to put you in a hotel for the night.” And that one night turned into eight months [at $3K/month]. Oh my God, you guys I was like, “No, this is unacceptable,”‘ Dawn scoffed.
By 2022, Robinson researched ‘car life’ culture and decided to give it a shot: ‘I felt free. I felt like I was on a camping trip. It just felt like it was the right thing to do.’
The Connecticut-born belter spent her first night in her car in Malibu – most likely the Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park – which she called ‘scary.’
‘But then as I got to know what to do in my car and how to do it, like, how to cover my windows and you don’t talk to certain people,’ Dawn noted.
‘You’re careful of telling people that you’re alone, as a woman especially, and I’m a celebrity [so] I don’t just divulge that to people.’
Robinson immediately enjoyed ‘the sense of freedom’ that she felt: ‘I felt like I was on a camping trip. I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn’t regret it. You know, a lot of celebrities have lived in their cars.’
Indeed, there’s a long list of celebrities who fell on hard times over the years including Hilary Swank, Jewel, Steve Harvey, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Worthington, Drew Carey, Suze Orman, and Tyler Perry.
But don’t pity the lyric soprano as living in her car was a choice she needed to make to ‘go through this fire’ and she has her brother Evin, assistant Niecy, and ‘forever mother-in-law’ to lean on.
‘You may have heard of something called the dark night of the soul,’ Dawn explained.
‘That’s when you go through like a period of isolation, a period of separating yourself from family and friends, and I’m definitely I’m in the trenches of this right now. [But] I wouldn’t trade my experiences and what I’ve gone through for the world.’
Proving she still has her sense of humor, Robinson laughed: ‘Just so you guys know, I have a gym membership and I shower there. I’m a Funky Diva but I’m not funky!’
The Free Your Mind hitmaker has been proudly filming her journey for a future documentary and envisions her eventual resurgence.
‘I mean society tends to look down on people for living off-grid when I tell you off grid is exactly what a lot of people are going to start doing,’ said Dawn, urging her fans to do something ‘scary.’
‘Would I have an apartment right now if I had a choice? I would. I’m not going to lie, but am I glad that I did this. Absolutely proud of what I’ve accomplished out here.’
Robinson auditioned for En Vogue in 1989 and reportedly first quit in 1997 over contract disputes before returning for stints with the group in 2005 and 2008-2011.
Robinson reportedly first quit En Vogue in 1997 over contract disputes before returning for stints with the group in 2005 and 2008-2011 and 2019.
‘When Dawn left the group, it derailed their momentum,’ producer Thomas McElroy told Wax Poetics last November.
‘It changed the dynamic of the group. It affected their relationship with the record company, and how much confidence they had in the group. And I said it often: they are En Vogue. Yes, we built and we conceptualized it, but they are their own brand now.
‘The legacy is in place, but there was so much that was unfulfilled that I felt could have happened. Even to this day, I feel bad that all the girls aren’t together, reaping the benefits of their legacy.’
Founding member Cindy Herron-Braggs added: ‘Dawn has just decided she doesn’t want to work with us again.’
On February 16, En Vogue brought back founding member Maxine Jones – who quit in 2001 to focus on motherhood – to perform with them at the 74th NBA All-Star Game alongside Rhona Bennett (who joined in 2004), Terry Ellis, and Cindy.
En Vogue still averages 1.9M monthly listeners on Spotify, they have 26M YouTube views, and they’ve sold over 20M records.
The Funky Divas have had many hit songs including Hold On, Free Your Mind, Never Gonna Get It, Giving Him Something He Can Feel, Don’t Let Go, and Whatta Man (feat. Salt N Pepa).
The ladies are booked and busy with their next gig happening March 28 at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA.
