The World vs R. Kelly

BY IKENNA OBIOHA

Studying the span between the release of 2002’s sex tape by the The Sun-Times and 2008 when he was acquitted of charges, Kelly’s career flourished. In fact those periods count for the bulk of his success in the music industry, and during the time, it is believed he continued in his act of sexually assaulting women using a contract.

Last Saturday marked the last airdate for ‘Surviving R. Kelly’, a special six hour, three-day documentary series detailing accounts of sexual abuse of R. Kelly against women – mostly underage – on Lifetime TV. The series’ timeline stretches from the 1970 to present times with a slew of interviews from witnesses and victims alike.

Kelly no doubt has enjoyed life on the fast lane owing to his highly successful career that has spawned some of the greatest R&B singles in his career like I’m A Flirt, I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition among others, so much so that billboard crowned him the king of R&B of the past 25 years.

In 2002, a sex tape of Kelly and an underage girl who happened to be the niece of Kelly’s long-time collaborator Sparkle surfaced. Upon seeing the tape, Sparkle reckoned that her niece at the time the tape was made was around 14. Although he was acquitted in 2008 for making pornographic content with an alleged minor, it wasn’t his first time abusing a minor in the guise of working to advance their music careers. On August 31, 1994, the singer married then Aaliyah using a falsified Cook County marriage certificate that claimed Aaliyah was 18. Upon discovery of the falsity of the document, the marriage was annulled and Kelly stuck to saying that he and Aaliyah never tied the knot in several subsequent interviews.

Studying the span between the release of 2002’s sex tape by the The Sun-Times and 2008 when he was acquitted of charges, Kelly’s career flourished. In fact, those periods count for the bulk of his success in the music industry, and during the time, it is believed he continued in his act of sexually assaulting women using a contract. In a recent reveal by Jovante Cunningham, she claims that Kelly on separate occasions had sex with underage girls in the full glare of others within his clique. According to the witness claims, Kelly would subject his victims into signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) whilst providing them with material benefits.

Till 2017’s Jim DeRogatis — the music critic that was a witness in the 2008 trial of the artiste — investigations into the alleged kidnap and sexual assault claims levelled against Kelly by three families, not much light was shed in that area. However, Kelly claimed that the investigation was a ploy used by DeRogatis to climb the career ladder. DeRogatis had described the harem of women staying with Kelly at different locations as a ‘sex cult’. In July of 2017, Buzzfeed news claimed that Kelly was holding women in his homes against their will as sex slaves and has forbade them from contacting family members. With family members of alleged victims working with the news team, Dominique Gardner who according to eye witness account of her being forced by Kelly to dress up as a boy, had her mother Michelle Kramer rescue her during the investigation period by Buzzfeed news. The other unnamed girl they made contact with said she was free and doesn’t want to be bothered.

With over 50 interviews conducted for the series,  John Legend, Wendy Williams, Sparkle amongst other famous names tell their version about what they personally know about Kelly’s ill ways or at least air an opinion on revealed information they never knew about him.

While most stars came out to speak against Kelly, others who have in one way or the other worked with Kelly declined to do interviews. They include Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. In 2013 Lady Gaga who worked with Kelly on her single ‘Do What You Want’ defended him in 2013 at a press conference in Japan when asked why she decided to worked with the embattled star after his child pornography trial.

“R. Kelly and I have sometimes, have very untrue things written about us, so in a way this is a bond between us,” she replied.

But the A Star is Born actress has taken back her words on the wake of the fresh allegations. She vowed to remove their song together on every stereamst service platform.

Following the launched investigation into the assault and amid several boycott campaign by various social platform last year, Kelly went on to release I Admit which isn’t necessarily a ‘mea culpa’ but rather, an account of his sexual unfaithfulness, dyslexia and rape as a young boy. In the 19-minute run that assumes the format of rap opera ‘Trapped in the Closet’, he went on to give details on how he was sexually molested by an older relative when he was younger; however, failed to address the allegation of his domestic violence and paedophilia.

The release of I Admit gained negative reviews from critics, and quickly had a remix from ex-wife Andrea Kelly posted to Instagram. She relayed in her version how Kelly abused her and neglected their kids. Also, younger brother to the R&B crooner Carey Killa Kelly released a response track on august 3, 2018 reacting to Kelly’s claim of him abandoning him. He went further to state that Kelly also had sex with men.

Following the conviction of Bill Cosby, the power of the #MeToo movement has become a still voice for empowering women, hence, a surge in the number of victims coming up to unearth the past deeds of Kelly. As far back as 1995, one of the interviewee Lizzette Martinez recalled her pregnancy for Kelly and the unfortunate miscarriage she experienced. She quotes as being the muse for the Michael Jackson’s hit single ‘You Are Not Alone’ penned by R. Kelly. She said Kelly wrote the song for what she was going through at the time.

Select radio stations in the United States have pulled Kelly’s music catalogue from their playlist indefinitely in support of women’s rights. Spotify removed Kelly’s songs from his catalogue last year following the social campaign hashtag #MuteRKelly. Recently, RCA severed ties with the singer too.

With all the witnesses’ accounts and no substantial evidence to charge Kelly, he still remains in the clear… for now. With the series’ overwhelming success on Lifetime, being the most viewed series since the past two years, it surely reverberate with its audience with the message of empowering women to speak their deepest fears.