Sister Sledge star opens up on ‘rift’ with sisters at the height of their career

Kathy Sledge joined Lorraine stand in host Ranvir Singh to discuss her upcoming tour but gave a brief insight into the feud her sisters had for 30 years. After discussing her excitement for her new solo tour, Ranir noted: “There was a rift between the sisters…” to which Kathy hesitantly replied: “Yeah I guess you could say family. “We love each other, but at the end of the day working with each other is a strain, the sisters don’t work together anymore. “I always say, you never know what you are going to get, but at the end of the day to be able to be Sister Sledge feature Kathy Sledge, the music has been having so much resurgence.” The sisters hadn’t been on speaking terms since 1989 after Kathy decided to start a solo career and released an album. Kathy Sledge details ‘rift’ between sisters during height of career (Image: ITV) She was told by her sisters that if she decided to do so: “If you do it, you gotta leave.’ Adding more fuel to the fire, in 2013 the sisters took Kathy to court to stop her from using the name “Sister Sledge” to promote her performances. Kathy previously said: ‘They tried to make it so that I wasn’t allowed to say I’m of Sister Sledge or from Sister Sledge. They thought it was a conflict.’ After spending $80,000, they settled the suit, and Kathy didn’t speak to her sisters during their 30-year feud, adamant she would never get back together with her siblings. Kathy Sledge details ‘rift’ between sisters during height of career (Image: GETTY) In 2015 the feud reached its height when Sister Sledge was asked to appear at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and perform in front of Pope Francis. In a very public snub, Kathy was ostracised by her siblings from the performance. However, the sisters were finally reunited and put their past behind them just weeks before their sibling Joni died in 2017. A close friend of the band and Full Force band member “Bowlegged Lou” revealed the sisters had a tearful reunion and “could not stop hugging”. Lou revealed to The Mirror: ‘I called Kathy to give my condolences, and although I didn’t really want to ask, I still did because I knew the scenario. ‘I said, ‘Kathy, did you guys ever make peace?’ I was so happy to hear her tell me, ‘Yes Lou, we did make peace. “We made peace in January all of us as sisters and I was loving and hugging, with Joni. And the other sisters.” Joni died of natural causes at her home in Arizona on March 10. Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV.