Mary J. Blige Speaks Out on Unpaid Charity Loan Allegations

Mary J. Blige is facing more drama this week after her non-profit organization FFAWN (Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now) was sued over an unpaid loan. The R&B songstress addressed the allegations during a phone call with Angie Martinez.

On Sunday, TMZ reported that TD Bank had filed suit against Blige and co-founder Steve Stoute over a $250,000 loan that the charity took out in June 2011. According to the suit, FFAWN agreed to pay the money back, but as of December 2011, they had only paid back $368.33. Additionally, the non-profit didn’t file a federal tax return for 2010 and is being sued by musicians who claim they were not paid to perform at a 2011 fundraising gala.

Speaking from Beijing, China, where she was performing at an event for Armani, Blige admitted FFAWN’s faults and explained how she was working to remedy the situation.

“FFAWN has been mismanaged and when I found out about all these issues, I immediately got on the phone with my lawyersand my advisers and tried to fix this so that none of those women would suffer,” said the singer. “My goal is to do exactly what I set out to do. My motives were true and upfront. I set out to empower and encourage women, but it turns out the business part of it was not managed properly.”

While she didn’t mention any specific names, she placed blame on those running the organization. “I just found out that when you don’t hire the right people and have them in the right places, doing the right things, and they don’t have the same motives that you do, your business suffers,” she continued. “And there’s a business to giving as well. So you have to have the right people to make sure everybody’s straight.”

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