Monica is beyond ready for the narrative of her and Brandy being at odds with each other to be put to bed for good.
For more than two decades, fans of the two celebrated artists have dredged up the feud that once existed during the late 1990s. Present-day, Monica said that the old news has no bearing on the rapport the women now share.
“We are more than good. I [turned] 43 in October. I have nothing but love and admiration in my heart for her, and I’m good with everyone. I don’t have any issues with anyone,” the singer, who is sometimes referred to as Goonica, told The Hollywood Reporter. “As far as she and I go, a lot of what people hear is about two teenage girls. Now we’re two grown women, that’s a completely different thing. So it’s something that I kind of wish would go away, to be very honest,” she added.
The songstresses proved that they squashed their decades-old beef three years ago when they joined forces for an August 2020 Verzuz. During the three-hour set, Brandy, at one point, even joked about the time Monica “slapped” her. Ahead of the battle of musical catalogs, the Atlanta actress told “Entertainment Tonight,” “We’ve long removed ourselves from the dramatics of it, but we’re gonna have a very in-depth conversation that may possibly be shared even with the audience… The fans have no idea what really took place, what really caused the initial friction.”
According to producer Dallas Austin, who helped Monica see the vision for the women’s first hit record together, “The Boy Is Mine,” the altercation took place backstage at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. But all of that teenage angst is water under the bridge, and it is time for fans to move on.
“I wish people would stop putting the two against each other. I wish people would stop attempting to compare who sings better, who looks better, who outdid the other one, because I never came into the space with a spirit of competition anyway,” she noted.
The industry veteran continued, “I came into the space with the spirit of winning for us both because we both represent two very special groups of people, and I don’t think we should be compared. I think we’re complete polar opposites vocally, personally, in every way, and that’s what makes it so amazing. And I wish people would just let it be that and not even compare the two or create any animosity, even within our fan groups.”
Their 1998 collaboration earned them a Grammy for Record of the Year at the 41st awards ceremony and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2012, they teamed up for a second time for a more mature follow-up to the song with “It All Belongs To Me.”