Is R. Kelly next?
It sure seems like R. Kelly feels that he’s the next target of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements … as well as the prosecutor’s office now that another legend, Bill Cosby, has been convicted for his assortment of sexual transgressions. He has armed himself with legal hounds and has gone onto his social media platforms to plea to his fans to believe he’s innocent and implore for their patience as his legal woes mount.
The rumors and innuendos about R. Kelly’s alleged sexual improprieties date back more than a quarter century.
For one, his former girlfriend Kitti Jones claimed in a BBC3 documentary that she was groomed by the singer and forced to have sex with him and others at least 10 times in a “sex dungeon.”
“I was introduced to one of the girls, that he told me he ‘trained’ since she was 14, those were his words,” she told the station. “I saw that she was dressed like me, that she was saying the things I’d say and her mannerisms were like mine. That’s when it clicked in my head that he had been grooming me to become one of his pets. He calls them his pets.”
In another instance, a 19-year-old woman filed a lawsuit saying in December he tried to groom her for a sex cult and infected her with an STD. She is accusing him of “unlawful restraint, furnishing alcohol and illegal drugs to a minor, and aggravated assault.”
Today, R. Kelly is speaking out for the first time on Instagram about the latest allegations and, as usual, he is denying everything: “My team has advised me that this is not a proper platform to express my emotions. I will not discuss details about these false allegations that have been made against me. I will say that I am infuriated, and I am heartbroken by the false claims against me. These accusations being perpetuated by the media is an attempt to distort my character and to destroy my legacy that I have worked so hard to build.”
By the media? Did Kelly just pull a Donald Trump and blame the media? These are actual women who have come forward and the newest lawsuit is just a few weeks ago.
He continued, “These allegations have created a character of me that is not the truth of who I am nor what I am about. The women in my life are consenting adults and they [sic] with me on their free will. I am a God-fearing man, a son, a brother, and most importantly a father. The media has dissected and manipulated these false allegations to reach their own conclusions about me and what I do in my personal life. My focus has always been music and being in the music industry. At this time, my faith and my love for music are the only things that has not been affected. The devil is a liar. To whom much is given, from him much expected. To my fans, I love you all from the deepest part of me. I am nothing without you, my fans. Thank you very much for all your support. I am a God-fearing man and through God’s grace and mercy, I will survive.” Kelly, leave God out of this.
The singer shared that “the police are not investigating me, there is no criminal investigations made against me, just allegations and conclusions. I ask that you wait for the truth to be revealed, before you condemn me, we live in a society where you are prejudged before knowing all the facts or truths. I believe Our greatest advertise comes from our biggest triumphs.”
Kelly said he made the videos because he doesn’t understand why many of his shows have been cancelled except that people are hating on him.
“I don’t know why they canceled the show,” he said. “I’ve never heard of a show being canceled because of allegations because of rumors but I guess there is a first time for everything.”
