‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ a docu-series highlighting the sexual promiscuity of R & B singer, R.Kelly against under aged ladies, which premiered on Thu
‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ a docu-series highlighting the sexual promiscuity of R & B singer, R.Kelly against under aged ladies, which premiered on Thursday on Lifetime as part of a three-night, six-hour event, has been making headlines for the disturbing portrait it paints of the controversial singer.
Here below are some of the shocking claims from the docu series, ‘Surviving R. Kelly’
Kelly’s brother says they were both molested as kids
Kelly has publicly said he was molested by an older female relative as a child, first in his 2012 ‘Soulacoaster’ autobiography and several additional times over the years. In ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ the singer’s younger brother, Carey Kelly, says he experienced similar abuse. Carey recounted going to his older brother, Robert (aka R. Kelly), about the abuse when he was a child.
“Being my big brother, I brought that to him and told him what happened to me, he didn’t really respond to it like I felt he should. When I told him, he said, ‘No, that didn’t happen.’ And I said, ‘Yes it did.’ And Robert said, ‘No it didn’t.’ And I left it alone. I really didn’t want to take it to my mom, because my brother was the test. And if he believed me, maybe I could’ve taken it to an adult.”
Former backup singer Jovante Cunningham claims R. Kelly had sex with an underage girl while others watched
Cunningham, one of Kelly’s former backup singers, is one of the few women interviewed in the docu series. She worked with the singer while she was underage but does not claim he sexually propositioned her. One of the many harrowing stories Cunningham tells recounts a time she was in the studio recording with Kelly when he started having sex with a girl she knew was underage in full view of others. Cunningham didn’t mention who the underage lady was.
Kelly’s ex assistant describes Aaliyah as ‘worried, scared’ during alleged wedding
Kelly reportedly married singer Aaliyah on Aug. 31, 1994, using a falsified Cook County marriage certificate that listed her age as 18 when she was, in fact, just 15 at the time. Demetrius Smith, Kelly’s former tour manager and personal assistant, who has come out previously with disturbing details about his time with the singer, shared more details about Kelly and Aaliyah’s wedding day.
“I’m not proud of that (day),” he said. “I had papers forged for them. Aaliyah was underage. We got the marriage license, we were at a hotel in Maywood, Illinois. It was just a quick little ceremony, nothing elaborate. Aaliyah didn’t have a white dress, Robert didn’t have on a tux, just everyday wear. Robert said ‘I do.’ Him and Aaliyah. Aaliyah looked worried, scared. I wanted so much to grab Aaliyah and talk to her. She gave me a look like she wanted me to talk to her. I knew that it had changed the course of everything.”
The marriage was annulled a short time later, with Kelly publicly maintaining that the wedding never happened.
Kelly’s ‘You Are Not Alone’ by Michael Jackson inspired by his promiscuity
Lizzette Martinez says Kelly coerced her into a sexual relationship when she was underage. She said in the documentary that she became pregnant with Kelly’s child when she was a senior in high school, and miscarried shortly after she found out about the pregnancy. Martinez claims Kelly told her that she was the inspiration for ‘You Are Not Alone,’ which became a hit sung by Michael Jackson in 1995.
“He just said he had something really special he had been working on. When he wrote it, he was thinking of me. So when he played it, he called the song ‘You Are Not Alone.’ ”
Andrea Lee says her wedding to R. Kelly was a surprise – even to her
Lee was one of Kelly’s backup dancers before she married the singer in 1996 when she was 22. Lee, who recounts stories of her husband’s controlling and abusive behavior in ‘Surviving R. Kelly,’ also shares the unconventional story of their wedding day, a surprise ceremony Kelly threw for Lee.
“My wedding was a surprise wedding. I did not know I was getting married. We went to Colorado and I remember going into a hotel room and there was a violinist, there was a cello player, he had the cake, he had the food, he had everything. He went over the top. And it was like, ‘Robert, what if I wanted to do it in a church, wear a wedding dress?’ I don’t think he even understood crossing that line from being generous to controlling.”
Kelly and Lee have three children together. Lee filed a restraining order against Kelly in 2005 after he allegedly assaulted her when she asked for a divorce. Their divorce was finalized in 2009.
