Tiffany Evans is getting brutally honest about the hard truth that comes with being a child star.
On Sunday, the Instagram account Fly and Famous Black Girl shared a series of photos from a TV appearance the “Promise Ring” singer did in her younger years.
Evans jumped in the comments and admitted that now, at 31 years old, she wishes “she would have done things differently.”
The series of throwback pics featured a then-11-year-old Evans on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2003. She appeared on the talk show with comedian Arsenio Hall. At the time, Hall hosted Star Search, where Evans had made a name for herself as the “first contestant in Star Search history to earn a perfect score on all of her performances.” She would go on to win the Grand Champion title in the junior singer division.
While the caption provided all the assumed makings of a long-lasting career, Evans told another story.
“If I knew then what I know now I would have done things differently,” she wrote. “I wish I could’ve changed so much that was going on around this little girl. Everybody took from me.”
She added, “All of the hard earned money I made. The work I put in. They took from me, ruined some relationships in this business for me, squandered some opportunities that if you guys knew about it, you would’ve wanted to get it back in blood for me.”
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Evans, who appeared in Tyler Perry‘s 2005 breakout film, Diary Of A Mad Black Woman and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, had more she wanted to get off her chest about the entertainment industry.
“I spent years doing something that i love, to become an adult and have nothing to show for it. It bothers my mental a lot some time,” she said. “The ones who know the truth, really know🥹 from a teenager to my adult years I went out looking for love in wrong places, was manipulated and terribly abused.”
Evans ended her statement, though, on a positive note by writing, “I gained beautiful children, I met my soulmate but I really want to see what I worked so hard for all my childhood finally come to life!”
She released her self-titled debut album in 2008. Its lead single, “Promise Ring” featuring Ciara, peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
For those wondering, Evans is still working on music. These days, she sings alongside her boyfriend Jawan Harris. Together, they go by Jawan x Tiffany; their latest single, “Issues,” drops on Oct. 6.
