Twenty years after her death in August 2001, an author now claims that singer Aaliyah was drugged prior to her tragic plane crash in the Bahamas.
The beloved Brooklyn-born and Detroit-raised Aaliyah Dana Haughton was already being adorned with the titles of “Princess of R&B” and the “Queen of Urban Pop” at the tender age of 22 because of an endless string of memorable hits, her smoldering magnetism and, of course, her gorgeous visage. But after making the video to the blockbuster song “Rock the Boat,” her ill-fated flight headed for Miami suddenly went down on the exotic island country.
Worse, Aaliyah fans weren’t able to fully mourn her premature passing, along with eight others on Aug. 25, 2001, due to the terrorist attacks two weeks later on Sept. 11, 2001.
The events leading up to the flight have always been shrouded in frustrating mystery, including how the flight was reportedly overstuffed by several hundred pounds and that the pilot was allegedly abusing illicit narcotics.
According to The Daily Beast, acclaimed music journalist Kathy Iandolis’ new book, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, forwards the new and bold claim that the “One in a Milion” singer was asleep from a powerful sleeping pill when the plane went down.
Iandolis speaks with Bahamas native Kingsley Russell, whose family owns a taxi and hospitality business. Russell, who was 13 at the time, reportedly told the author that he watched a sleeping Aaliyah being carried onto the plane while her team argued with the pilot. The songstress was so adamantly against getting on the tiny plane that she needed a powerful sedative to endure the flight.
Russell said he was triggered when he learned Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter perished in a helicopter crash in metro L.A. on Jan. 26, 2020. It reminded him of the day he heard the awful explosion from Aaliyah’s crash.
Flip the page to view part of Russell’s testimony.
