Chart-topping British girl group Eternal have cancelled a planned full-band reunion due to an alleged difference in views on transgender rights.
A representative for singer Louise Redknapp, who went on to have a successful solo career, confirmed reports that she had left the reunion due to a clash in values with sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett.
“A message was sent to the team putting together the Eternal reunion stating that if it was to go ahead, neither Vernie nor Easther would perform at Pride shows or LGBTQ+ festivals,” Redknapp’s publicist Simon Jones told the BBC. “This was because the duo felt that the gay community was being hijacked by the trans community and they do not support this.
“Louise is a huge supporter and ally of the LGBTQ+ community and both herself and [founding Eternal member] Kéllé [Bryan] told the duo they would not work with anyone who held these views, and as such the reunion as a four would not be going ahead. The team behind the proposed Eternal reunion are gay … and neither myself nor any of the team would work with artists who held such views about the trans community.”
Redknapp herself posted a message to X, writing “Always & Forever” under an image of a trans-inclusive Pride flag.
Bryan wrote in a separate statement: “The relationship with our fans and the joy of celebrating our success was, and still is, our motivation. My stance and allegiances have always been that I am an advocate for inclusion and equality for all.”
Easther and Vernie Bennett have not commented on the split, first reported in the Daily Mail. The Guardian has contacted their representatives for comment.
By putting a UK spin on US R&B, Eternal were one of the most successful British girl groups of the 1990s, scoring 12 UK Top 10 hits including a No 1 with I Wanna Be the Only One, a 1997 collaboration with singer BeBe Winans.
They formed as a quartet and released 1993 debut album Always & Forever together, after which Redknapp (then Louise Nurding) left, going on to have nine Top 10 hits of her own, a successful TV presenting career and a 2020 comeback album which reached No 11 in the UK charts.
Eternal continued for two further albums, until Bryan left in 1998, later becoming a regular cast member in soap opera Hollyoaks and a regular panellist on chatshow Loose Women.
The Bennett sisters released one further album as a duo, 1999’s Eternal. There was also a brief return as a trio without Redknapp for 2014 reality show The Big Reunion.
