R. Kelly has faced severe backlash after Lifetime aired the docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly,” detailing more than two decades worth of sexual assault allegations, and now, the singer is under investigation.
According to TMZ, a case was opened in the Fulton County Disctrict Attorney’s Office following last week’s airing of “Surviving R. Kelly.” The six-part docuseries delved into over twenty years worth of allegations against the R&B singer, outlining his alleged involvement with young girls – some falling under the “legal” age limit.
Several survivors spoke out in the documentary, explaining their experience with R. Kelly. TMZ said investigators have been reaching out to these women, including Asante McGee, a woman who allegedly escaped from his home after being kept and brainwashed as a “sex slave.” Additionally, investigators have contacted the attorney for the parents of Joycelyn Savage, a woman who is still said to be living with Kelly.
Calls have reportedly been “flooding” the investigators offices since the series aired this past Thursday.
Kelly claimed he is innocent, arguing that the docuseries is a “vendetta” against him and brought on by people who “hated him throughout his professional career.” He has threatened to sue “everyone” involved in the documentary and discredit those that spoke out. While unconfirmed if Kelly was involved, producers received a gun threat before a private screening of the series.
Since the ’90s, Kelly has been accused on multiple accounts of sexual assault, starting with his marriage to a 15-year-old in 1994. Vox outlined his entire history of allegations, including child pornography charges, the accusation he had “knowingly and intentionally infecting” a woman with an STD, his ex-wife accusing him of domestic violence, and most recently, allegations of a sex cult in his Atlanta home.
Kelly has denied all allegations and is still releasing music.
Oronike Odeley and Kenyette Barnes, co-founders of #MuteRKelly, have been working to get all of his concerts cancelled. His show at the University of Illinois-Chicago was cancelled in April, and his New York City show at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater was called-off in September due to “low ticket sales.” Additionally, he was supposed to perform in Australia and New Zealand, but the tour was reportedly “fake.”
