Joycelyn Savage, one of R. Kelly’s girlfriends, who has been living with him since she was 19, is opening up about her experience with the singer, say
Joycelyn Savage, one of R. Kelly’s girlfriends, who has been living with him since she was 19, is opening up about her experience with the singer, saying that she is also a victim of his sexual and psychological abuse. Kelly has been incarcerated since July on multiple allegations of sexual abuse in three states.
Until recently, Savage was one of Kelly’s defenders, speaking out on his behalf in Gayle King’s interview with the singer earlier this year and appearing in the courtroom when he was arraigned in New York in August. Joycelyn however seems to be throwing R. Kelly under the bus in her initial recounting and is airing his dirty laundry. She gets into how she met him at a concert when she was 17, going on to say that it was a fun experience that left her with “mixed emotions.”
Joycelyn Savage also claimed that R. Kelly promised her a music career, stating that he’d make her the next Aaliyah. She then goes on say that she dropped out of college and moved in with him, but says things turned ugly fairly quickly as he allegedly became incredibly controlling
“After these couple of months Robert started giving me commands, and making sure I call him by certain names. Like ‘Master’ or ‘Daddy’ which I didn’t really care for at the time. If I wasn’t getting paid or pursuing my dream I would’ve went home, but all of that didn’t stop just yet.”
Joycelyn adds, “But It started getting worse by day by day, he would raise his voice at me if I didn’t call him by those two names. If Robert called me I would have to reply with ‘Yes, daddy’ or ‘Please daddy’ he was so controlling.”
She then claims R. Kelly threatened to end her career if she ever left him or tried talking to her parents in private. Joycelyn claims R. Kelly said, “all this can stop today, you want a career? Or do you want to live a normal life.”
Joycelyn Savage also alleges that Kelly’s assistants would watch her constantly.
“They never spoken to me or anything they just watched me which was weird to me at the time. I can say I didn’t have any type of privacy at all now that I think of it. If I showered, one of his assistant[s] would have to be by the door while I shower. At the moment I kept thinking to myself why is all of this, does he think I will run away?”
Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, responded to Savage’s claims saying, “It is unfortunate that Jocelyn Savage now seeks to make money by exploiting her long time, loving relationship with Robert. Obviously if she were to tell the truth no one would pay so she has, unfortunately, chosen to regurgitate the stories and lies told by others for her own personal profit,” Greenberg said. “We know the real facts, and it was not until the money ran out that she decided anything was wrong. Hopefully people will see it for the obvious profiteering it is.”
Kelly is currently facing charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault and child pornography spread throughout Brooklyn, Chicago and Minneapolis. In June, he pleaded not guilty to 11 felony sexual abuse counts after he was charged by Cook County prosecutors in Chicago in May. The charges included five counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, stemming from one accuser who claimed Kelly abused her in 2009 and 2010 while she was underage.
A month later the singer was arrested again and indicted on federal charges including child pornography, racketeering and obstruction of justice in both Illinois and New York, indictment documents and his lawyer confirmed. He has remained jailed since after being denied bail.
Then in August, Kelly was charged with two sex crimes in Minnesota after allegedly paying a teen girl $200 to dance nude back in 2001. Kelly, who was also the subject of the bombshell documentary, ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ earlier this year, has maintained his innocence throughout his legal troubles.
