True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

R. Kelly Case Part II

Allegations of child molestation(2009)

In a divorce court filing unsealed in2020, R. Kelly's former wife Andrea claims that R. Kelly was accusedof molesting a preteen girl in 2009.

Second series of accusations(2010s–present)

Huffington Post Live interview(2015)

In December 2015, Kelly appeared onHuffington Post Live in an interview with journalist CarolineModarressy-Tehrani. The interview was conducted so that he couldpromote the release of his thirteenth solo album, The Buffet.

During the interview,Modarressy-Tehrani quizzed Kelly about the sexual abuse allegationsbeing leveled against him and wanted to gauge his reaction. Thisresulted in Kelly growing angry and defensive. He continually shoutedover Modarressy-Tehrani, asked her whether she drank and threatenedto leave and go to McDonald's. Kelly stormed out of the interviewbefore it ended.

The incident was one of the firstoccasions where Kelly was concretely asked about the allegationsagainst him on a public platform. Following Kelly's New Yorkconviction in late-September 2021, Modarressy-Tehrani tweeted: "Now,with this verdict, hopefully, his survivors get some peace and feelthis justice."

Alleged sex cult (2010s)

Jim DeRogatis reported for BuzzFeedNews on July 17, 2017, that Kelly was accused by three sets ofparents of holding their daughters in an "abusive cult".Kelly and the alleged victims denied the allegations.

In March 2018, BBC World Service aireda documentary entitled R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes presentedby reporter Ben Zand that explored the 2017 allegations. This wasfollowed up in May with the BBC Three documentary R Kelly: The SexScandal Continues, which included interviews with the Savage family.

Kelly was again accused of misconducton April 17, 2018, by a former partner of his who claimed that Kelly"intentionally" infected her with a sexuallytransmitted disease. A representative for Kelly stated that he"categorically denies all claims and allegations".

In a January 2019 BBC News article, awoman named Asante McGee whom Kelly had met in 2014 and taken to livewith him some months later, said that she lived with not only Kellyalone, but with other women. She said: "He controlled everyaspect of my life, while I lived with him." McGee later movedout on her own accord.

Boycott and industry response

In May 2018, the Women of Color branchof the Time's Up movement called for a boycott of Kelly's music andperformances over the many allegations against him. The boycott wasaccompanied by a social media campaign called Mute R. Kelly. Inresponse, his management said that Kelly supports the movement inprinciple, but targeting him was "the attempted lynching of ablack man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture".

Music streaming service Spotifyannounced on May 10, 2018, that it was going to stop promoting orrecommending music by Kelly, and XXXTentacion stating, "Wedon't censor content because of an artist's or creator's behavior,but we want our editorial decisions—what we choose to program—toreflect our values." Two days later, Apple Music and Pandoraalso announced that they would cease to feature or promote Kelly'smusic. Spotify was criticized by members of the music industry withconcerns the decision would create a "slippery slope"of muting artists accused of criminal activity. Spotify ultimatelyreversed this decision, following initial backlash including that ofTop Dawg Entertainment, which threatened to remove its musicalcatalog from streaming service.