By Pascal Oparada
A documentary titled, “Surviving R.Kelly,” began to air on Thursday, January 3, 2019.
The docu-series show former friends and workers come up to detail what they call a decade-long abuse by the singer.
Some alleged that Robert Kelly maintained a sex cult made up of mainly black teenagers who were subjected to bouts of sex by the singer.
Fellow stars like John Legend and talk show host, Wendy Williams, have all lined up to slam the singer, calling him child predator.
“Time’s up for R. Kelly,” Legend says in Surviving R. Kelly, adding that the star “has brought so much pain to so many people.”
Executive producer Dream Hampton says she reached out to multiple stars when she was making the series, to no avail. “I asked Jay-Z, I asked Mary J. Blige, I asked Lil Kim, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle…” she told the website Shadow and Act. “I mean, most people just don’t want to touch it. I remember Ahmir was like, ‘I would do anything for you but I can’t do this.’ It’s not because they support him, it’s because it’s so messy and muddy. It’s that turning away that has allowed this to go on.”
For more than two decades, the R&B singer has faced allegations of sexually abusing minors.
First, there were rumors and reports of a secret marriage to a teenager. Then there were lawsuits. Then there was an indictment and a high-profile court case in which he was acquitted after years of delay.
“For the first time ever, survivors and people from R. Kelly’s inner circle are coming forward with new allegations about his sexual, mental, and physical abuse,” Lifetime, the television network airing the document said, said.
The network is running two hourlong episodes each night through Saturday.
In 1994, R.Kelly then 27, married Aaliyah who was 15 but listed as 18 on a wedding certificate. Vibe magazine leaked the certificate which made Aaliyah’s parents move to annul the marriage.
Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 after becoming a popular musician.
In December 1996, there was a lawsuit which claimed that R.Kelly had sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 24.
In 1998, Kelly settled with the woman who had sued him.
After the docu-series premiered, R.Kelly’s music sales soared on Spotify, a music streaming platform.
The hashtag, #ISurvivedRKelly trended on Twitter for an extended period of time on Thursday to Friday. This prompted the singer’s supporters to tweet their support with another hashtag, #ISupportRKelly.