Disgraced, depressed and depleted superstar R. Kelly, is pleading with a judge to allow him to travel outside the United States to perform a series of concerts to help restock his empty bank account.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, 52, specifically wants to go to the Middle East next month to perform a series of concerts as he works to keep up with his pay child support payments and exorbitant legal costs to defend himself. This is being reported by WGN-TV, which has access to the new court documents.
The “Bump N’ Grind” singer wants to do up to five shows in the world-class desert paradise that is Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kelly says that the shows were already booked before he was indicted and arrested on 10 charges of criminal sexual abuse in February — Fox News reports according to a motion filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois.
Kelly did not indicate on the filed documents where the concerts will be or how much he expects to take in from the series of concerts.
According to Kelly’s legal team, the “Step in the Name of Love” crooner has an itinerary that includes meeting with members of royal families in the United Arab Emirates. If he is allowed to travel overseas, the Chicago Tribune reported he will fly by private jet.
The man who is promoting the concert is expected to pick up the check for Kelly’s flight, says his lawyer Steven Greenberg.
Of course, Kelly, 52, is prohibited from leaving his hometown state of Illinois and relinquished his passport after being arrested last month. The United Arab Emirates does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., but the Persian Gulf nation would never jeopardize its good bilateral relationship by harboring a fugitive Kelly, the filing said.
It is clear that R. Kelly’s finances are circling the drain. The continued fallout from the explosive documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” aired on Lifetime on Jan. 3, was the impetus of a drama-filled two months.
“He cannot work, and consequently cannot make a living if he is confined to Illinois, or even the United States,” according to the five-page court document. “Mr. Kelly needs to generate income.”
Denying the singer the opportunity to work would be “a hardship on his children,” Greenberg wrote in the document.
As most will recall, strangers had to bail R. Kelly out of the Cook County Jail twice in the last month because the singer did not have the $100K required on a $1M bond.
The judge is expected to give his ruling on the travel request at a pretrial hearing on Friday, the Chicago Tribune states.
