Speaking to ROCK THE BELLS, Speech explained the origins of his relationship with Taree and how her mental health has been on a steady decline over the last 30 years. It’s been a tough journey for Speech to witness, especially since Taree was such an integral part of Arrested Development, contributing to the group’s Grammy Award-winning single, “Tennessee.”
“This is been an extremely emotional, anxiety ridden journey,” he says. “Aerle Taree and I were close friends in the ‘80s and early ‘90s—like relatives. I remember her as an extremely intelligent, passionate, conscious and talented woman who I'd often lean on for support and rely on for inspiration. Aerle designed clothes for the group, represented curvy, Black excellence and helped with iconic vocals on big Arrested Development songs. She came up with the lines about ‘a game of horseshoes’ [from ‘Tennessee’], among other things.
Speech and other members of Arrested Development eventually lost touch with Taree, but her behavior grew increasingly concerning. This is evidently just the latest.
“Unfortunately, despite all attempts to the contrary, her actions became more and more toxic; to where, for decades, her and I stopped communicating,” he continues. “The post that I put on social media where she claims that my wife and I died, it's just a very small example of a dear friend and former member that has been displaying hurtful, deceptive and sometimes violent behaviors.
While Taree’s original Facebook post about Speech and his wife has been deleted, her page is full of random photos of Speech, old Arrested Development videos and statuses such as, “Speech is on the land” and simply, “Arrested Development.”
