Reality star Jontelle Watts, also known as Apple Watts on VH1’s Love and Hip-Hop Hollywood has been bed-ridden since her near fatal car crash in March.
However, now that she’s finally able to speak again she’s not only speaking up about her journey to recovery but she also claims that her own sister stole thousands of dollars from her.
Money that was initially donated by fans in an effort to support her in recovery.
Watts claims that not only did her sister steal money meant for her, but she neglected to bathe and care for her as well.
Her sister Domonique Flournoy is denying these claims, and insists Watts’ boyfriend is responsible for making her return to Las Vegas prematurely. Despite the pushback from her sister, Watts claims that she intends on taking legal action against her.
Is a lawsuit necessary in this situation? Or Is there more to the story? The Shade Room investigates…
The issues started not long after Watts’ accident, which occurred on a trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas back on March 23. Watts says she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into another vehicle,
She suffered from a fractured skull, broken spine and a shattered arm in the crash. Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover her expensive physical therapy bills, leaving her with massive out-of-pocket expenses to pay on her own, paying $5,000 a week on rehabilitation costs.
And now that Watts is finally been able to speak again after remaining bedridden for six months, and she’s been saying a LOT on social media regarding over $15,000 in GoFundMe donations that she never saw.
Those fundraising campaigns were set up by her sister, Domonique Flournoy.
“I had to pay for my health(care) myself,” Watts told TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter in an exclusive interview last week. “I heard (it was) $20,000, then $50,000. It’s my health and I can’t get money for my physical therapy.”
But the mistreatment really began after the accident, when Watts was living with her sister for a short time period.
She says she lived with her sister for about a week and a half after the crash, seeing her “only three times” in that time frame. Watts requires mostly round-the-clock care, and said her sister rarely changed her after she used the restroom.
Watts’ manager and now-power of attorney Hazel Brown says that she went to go visit her and was stunned to see how she was living when she visited her at her sister’s home.
She said the room Watts was staying in was cluttered with items, even though she had difficulty moving around due to her injuries.
“It was just a bed in a living room,” Brown tells TSR Investigates Justin Carter. “Her sheets weren’t clean, and the only time Domonique changed her was when I mentioned something to her about changing her.”
Watts says she didn’t shower once while at her sister’s home because “she didn’t want to carry me upstairs.”
She says if it wasn’t for her boyfriend, she would have never had her diapers changed or needs tended to during such a difficult time.
Then there was the money.
Brown says it wasn’t long after her sister set up the fundraisers that she started to live more extravagantly, frequently going to the casino and gambling, Facebook posts of “her” spoiling her kids, dropping $400-$500 for a pair of shoes…
“I feel she got kind of addicted to the attention she was getting with Apple,” Brown said of Watts’ sister. “And she just didn’t do what she was supposed to do.”
Brown said she really started to become suspicious when Watts asked her about the GoFundMe donations.
Her sister reportedly tried to convince her to remain at the hospital as long as possible, but when she was released earlier than expected, and left under the assumption that she had the funds to continue her therapy, Brown realized the money had already likely been spent.
“She’s collected over $30,000… and didn’t even buy a bed for Apple…. She hasn’t provided Apple with anything,” Brown went on to say. “That made me think, okay, she don’t have the money no more.”
When asked by The Shade Room if she believed Domonique blew all the GoFundMe money, Brown replied with “absolutely.”
Domonique went on Facebook live shortly after suspicions began to arouse. She bashed people for setting up “fake GoFundMe campaigns on Apple’s behalf.”
“Ya’ll see those GoFundMe accounts, don’t contribute to that. Because that’s… me and my family didn’t do that. My family is putting together a fundraiser for Vegas,” Domonique said during the livestream. “I’m going to be right here with her (Apple), everyday. Every day I can.”
Domonique has lashed out several times on social media, at one time blaming her boyfriend, Ty Williams, for forcing her to return to Vegas prematurely.
“She been at my house for almost a month, Ty was only at my house for a week, I got kids, how you only seen me three times smfh,” she wrote in on post. “What kind of man in they right mind would take a person in the condition my sister was in all the way to Vegas. If you cared for her, you would tell her to focus on what needs to be done. Her medical is in Cali, her court cases in Cali. Her kids (are) coming Thursday. Something is wrong with him! He can’t take care of her!”
Apple says in the meantime as she works to sort this family financial drama out, her fans have been helping her as her medical bills continue to mount. She also said she’s waiting on her credit card from GoFundMe.
As for her condition, she says she’s talking better now and standing up on her own. “I just can’t feel my right side but everything is going good,” she said.
She says she has since hired a lawyer and will be taking legal action against her sister. She says she also started a new GoFundMe campaign that’s only raised about $1,000 so far.
Domonique Flournoy did not immediately respond to The Shade Room’s request for comment.
