Seems like these parents all know the history...but continue to ignore all the reg flags in pursuit of fame & fortune."I'd heard about the past allegations but wasn't overly worried". SMH
R. Kelly
- Thread starter lilian
- Start date
Why did parents let their young boys go to Michael Jackson's house for sleepovers? Sadly, not all parents use good judgment.
Can the women leave? The mother said she spoke with her daughter and her daughter says she is fine. I honestly don't think it's that big of a deal if R Kelly wants to support some women but likes them a certain way. To dress a certain way. Etc... and the women like the trade off.
Is it an alternative lifestyle ? Yes. Would I want to do it? No. But there are lots of alternative lifestyles and situations out there. Some people would like to give over control to live with a rich, powerful person. I'm sorry that this mother is having to deal with the fact that she hooked her daughter up with R Kelly. But if the daughter has access to the outside world it's hard to see her as a victim. On the surface, I seriously don't see how this is much different than the Playmates in the Playboy mansion and The Girls Next Door Reality Show. Most of those girls were extremely young, definitely dressing for Hef, maintaining their bodies for Hef, having group sex and giving over a lot of their life to him. And that's a celebrated reality show ?!
There is a difference between an alternative situation that you don't like and cults and brainwashing.
Is it an alternative lifestyle ? Yes. Would I want to do it? No. But there are lots of alternative lifestyles and situations out there. Some people would like to give over control to live with a rich, powerful person. I'm sorry that this mother is having to deal with the fact that she hooked her daughter up with R Kelly. But if the daughter has access to the outside world it's hard to see her as a victim. On the surface, I seriously don't see how this is much different than the Playmates in the Playboy mansion and The Girls Next Door Reality Show. Most of those girls were extremely young, definitely dressing for Hef, maintaining their bodies for Hef, having group sex and giving over a lot of their life to him. And that's a celebrated reality show ?!
There is a difference between an alternative situation that you don't like and cults and brainwashing.
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I would guess she is not allowed outside contact since she's only texted her parents like twice in two years. Just because she talked to TMZ doesn't mean she can do what she wants - it means his people are smart enough to put her out there to say "see she is just fine." I think this goes further than an alternative lifestyle.
The story of R Kelly and Aaliyah – from their secret teenage marriage to those pregnancy rumours
Here, we take a look back at their relationship – from meeting when Aaliyah was just 12 to their secret marriage to those baby rumours.
Their union ended in 1995 and just six years later, Aaliyah tragically died on August 25 2001 in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22.
Meeting
They met when Aaliyah was just 12-years-old – Kelly was 24. She was the niece of his manager, Barry Hankerson, who introduced the pair, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
Hankerson was a big deal on the music scene, having managed the likes of Gladys Knight and Toni Braxton, and Aaliyah was quickly drawn into Kelly’s world and a romance began.
Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number
Kelly was a huge influence on Aaliyah’s early career as they spent more time together and, coincidentally, Aaliyah’s debut solo album Age Ain’t Nothing but A Number was written and produced by Kelly, recorded at the Chicago Recording Company in Illinois in 1993.
Aaliyah’s album was released on was released on May 24th 1994 and went on to make hit singles out of the title track and Back & Forth.
Work and play
Things between the pair of them seemed to be running smoothly, with Aaliyah giving an interview in 1994 saying: ‘[Kelly] is great is to work with, because really, it’s not like work because we’re really close.
‘So it’s just like fun really.’
Secret marriage
When Aaliyah was just 15 years old, she is alleged to have married Kelly, who was aged 27, on August 31 1994 in Chicago.A marriage certificate reported to be from their big day shows Aaliyah as citing her age as 18 at the time of their marriage.
While they tried to keep their marriage a secret to begin with, Aaliyah’s family found out about their union and, according to reports, were ‘outraged’ and demanded an annulment, which Aaliyah agreed to in October that year. Aaliyah and R Kelly are believed to have then parted way in 1995.
In an interview with GQ magazine in 2016, Kelly was asked about his reported marriage to Aaliyah, but he declined to comment. He said: ‘Because of Aaliyah’s passing, as I’ve always said, out of respect for her mother who’s sick and her father who’s passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone.
‘But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends.’
Silence speaks a thousand words
Aaliyah reportedly tried to have their marriage records expunged in 1997, around the same time Kelly was in court with Tiffany Hawkins, a 20-year-old woman who was suing the rapper for $10million (£7.7m) for allegedly having sex with her when she was 15 and he was 24. The case was settled with a $250,000 settlement the following year, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
When Aaliyah was asked about her marriage at the time by the publication, she reportedly said: ‘I don’t really comment on that because I know that’s not true. When people ask me, I tell them, `Hey, don’t believe all that mess. We’re close and people took it the wrong way.’
A spokesperson for Aaliyah also said at the time: ‘When R. Kelly comes up, she doesn’t even speak his name, and nobody’s allowed to ask about it at all.’
Was Aaliyah pregnant?
Sensational claims that Aaliyah fell pregnant with R Kelly’s child when she was just 15 emerged in a 2011 book called The Man Behind The Man: Looking From The Inside Out, by Demetrius Smith Sr, a former member of Kelly’s team.
One excerpt from the book read: ‘”I think she’s pregnant” he said, in a voice that sounded as if he wanted to burst out in tears. “Oh man, Rob” was all I could say at the time. Derrel McDavid arranged for a car to pick Aaliyah up at O’Hare airport and she had a hotel room available on arrival. This was crazy! How were we going to get through this without causing ill feelings with Barry Hankerson.’
Incidentally, on Mother’s Day last year Timbaland apparently shared a Mother’s Day tribute to Aaliyah on Instagram, which has since been deleted by lead many fans to question if he knew something that wasn’t widely known.
Aaliyah’s influence on R Kelly
Kelly has always denied any inappropriate behaviour and told biographer William Sutherland how Aaliyah was ‘one of the best young artists’ he had ever worked with.
And in a GQ interview in 2012, he said of the late artist: ‘I heard first of all this soft voice, but very… a lot of charisma.
‘And I saw her as a star the minute I heard her sing and dance. Saw her dance. She wasn’t the greatest dancer, but the dance moves she was doing were different than the other dancers that I’ve seen on television.
‘And I said, “This girl’s gonna be a star, whether I work with her or not”.’
http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/18/the-s...hose-pregnancy-rumours-6788484/#ixzz4nDQx8IR9
Here, we take a look back at their relationship – from meeting when Aaliyah was just 12 to their secret marriage to those baby rumours.
Their union ended in 1995 and just six years later, Aaliyah tragically died on August 25 2001 in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22.
Meeting
They met when Aaliyah was just 12-years-old – Kelly was 24. She was the niece of his manager, Barry Hankerson, who introduced the pair, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
Hankerson was a big deal on the music scene, having managed the likes of Gladys Knight and Toni Braxton, and Aaliyah was quickly drawn into Kelly’s world and a romance began.
Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number
Kelly was a huge influence on Aaliyah’s early career as they spent more time together and, coincidentally, Aaliyah’s debut solo album Age Ain’t Nothing but A Number was written and produced by Kelly, recorded at the Chicago Recording Company in Illinois in 1993.
Aaliyah’s album was released on was released on May 24th 1994 and went on to make hit singles out of the title track and Back & Forth.
Work and play
Things between the pair of them seemed to be running smoothly, with Aaliyah giving an interview in 1994 saying: ‘[Kelly] is great is to work with, because really, it’s not like work because we’re really close.
‘So it’s just like fun really.’
Secret marriage
When Aaliyah was just 15 years old, she is alleged to have married Kelly, who was aged 27, on August 31 1994 in Chicago.A marriage certificate reported to be from their big day shows Aaliyah as citing her age as 18 at the time of their marriage.
While they tried to keep their marriage a secret to begin with, Aaliyah’s family found out about their union and, according to reports, were ‘outraged’ and demanded an annulment, which Aaliyah agreed to in October that year. Aaliyah and R Kelly are believed to have then parted way in 1995.
In an interview with GQ magazine in 2016, Kelly was asked about his reported marriage to Aaliyah, but he declined to comment. He said: ‘Because of Aaliyah’s passing, as I’ve always said, out of respect for her mother who’s sick and her father who’s passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone.
‘But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends.’
Silence speaks a thousand words
Aaliyah reportedly tried to have their marriage records expunged in 1997, around the same time Kelly was in court with Tiffany Hawkins, a 20-year-old woman who was suing the rapper for $10million (£7.7m) for allegedly having sex with her when she was 15 and he was 24. The case was settled with a $250,000 settlement the following year, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
When Aaliyah was asked about her marriage at the time by the publication, she reportedly said: ‘I don’t really comment on that because I know that’s not true. When people ask me, I tell them, `Hey, don’t believe all that mess. We’re close and people took it the wrong way.’
A spokesperson for Aaliyah also said at the time: ‘When R. Kelly comes up, she doesn’t even speak his name, and nobody’s allowed to ask about it at all.’
Was Aaliyah pregnant?
Sensational claims that Aaliyah fell pregnant with R Kelly’s child when she was just 15 emerged in a 2011 book called The Man Behind The Man: Looking From The Inside Out, by Demetrius Smith Sr, a former member of Kelly’s team.
One excerpt from the book read: ‘”I think she’s pregnant” he said, in a voice that sounded as if he wanted to burst out in tears. “Oh man, Rob” was all I could say at the time. Derrel McDavid arranged for a car to pick Aaliyah up at O’Hare airport and she had a hotel room available on arrival. This was crazy! How were we going to get through this without causing ill feelings with Barry Hankerson.’
Incidentally, on Mother’s Day last year Timbaland apparently shared a Mother’s Day tribute to Aaliyah on Instagram, which has since been deleted by lead many fans to question if he knew something that wasn’t widely known.
Aaliyah’s influence on R Kelly
Kelly has always denied any inappropriate behaviour and told biographer William Sutherland how Aaliyah was ‘one of the best young artists’ he had ever worked with.
And in a GQ interview in 2012, he said of the late artist: ‘I heard first of all this soft voice, but very… a lot of charisma.
‘And I saw her as a star the minute I heard her sing and dance. Saw her dance. She wasn’t the greatest dancer, but the dance moves she was doing were different than the other dancers that I’ve seen on television.
‘And I said, “This girl’s gonna be a star, whether I work with her or not”.’
http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/18/the-s...hose-pregnancy-rumours-6788484/#ixzz4nDQx8IR9
Aside from the obvious. I am disgusted with her parents. This is all their fault. They handed their daughter to him on a platter. I won't lie. I have listened to his older music over the years. But take my kid to him for stardom after you knew what happened with Aaliyah? Nah.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...duct-court-cases-through-the-years/484550001/
R. Kelly: Tracking his career of alleged sexual misconduct
A disturbing new Buzzfeed News story published Monday, claiming R. Kelly lures women into "cult"-like sexual relationships, is the latest entry in the star's timeline of lawsuits, public controversies and reports of illicit behavior. In a statement to USA TODAY, the singer "unequivocally denied" the allegations via his lawyer Linda Mensch.
According to Buzzfeed, Kelly is keeping six women aged 18 to 31 in various properties in Chicago and Georgia, where he physically abuses them and secludes them from their families.
The story came from Jim DeRogatis, a freelance journalist who has reported on the cases against the singer for decades, stretching back to his initial bombshell report in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2000.
The R&B singer has a decades-long history of alleged sexual misconduct, settling numerous lawsuits out of court and was acquitted from a 2002 child pornography case, stemming from an anonymous sex tape. He continues to be embraced by some fans, critics and the music industry, and save for a 1996 battery charge, he has never been found guilty of any charges related to sexual misconduct in a court of law.
When did R. Kelly's troubles start?
On Aug. 31, 1994, R. Kelly, then 27, married the up and coming R&B singer Aaliyah, who was 15 years old at the time, in Rosemont, Ill. A falsified Cook County marriage certificate listed her age as 18, as DeRogatis later reported in the Sun-Times. Illinois prohibits adult men from having sex with girls under 17.
The marriage was annulled soon after and records were sealed.
The couple's short-lived marriage grabbed headlines at the time, but the incident didn't register as a major scandal for Kelly, whose career took off in the years following the annulment with three commercially-successful albums — 1995's R. Kelly, 1998's R and 2000's TP2.com — and winning three Grammys in 1998 for his chart-topping single I Believe I Can Fly.
When did his misdeeds first become public?
Kelly's history of legal battles didn't make headlines until 2000, when a Sun-Times article co-authored by DeRogatis detailed a disturbing lawsuit one woman brought against the singer.
According to the article, Tiffany Hawkins, an aspiring singer from Kelly's native Chicago, sued him in 1996 for $10 million in damages. In the suit, Hawkins alleged she “suffered personal injuries and severe emotional harm because she had sex with the singer and he encouraged her to participate in group sex with him and other underage girls," with their relations beginning in 1991, when she was 15. The lawsuit was settled in 1998.
A second Chicago woman who was named in the lawsuit described Kelly's "sickness" in the Sun-Times article, claiming she was involved in a threesome when she was 16 years old with Kelly and Hawkins.
Another woman in Los Angeles also told the Sun-Times Kelly began seducing her in 1999 at the age of 17, after they met on the set of his video for If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time. "I think that he really does have some kind of sexual problem," she said.
Over the next two years, Kelly settled three more cases out of court: Tracy Sampson, a former Epic Records intern who filed a civil suit against Kelly claiming he induced her "into an indecent sexual relationship," at age 17; Patrice Jones, who claimed Kelly coerced her into a sexual relationship, impregnated her and forced her to get an abortion; and Montina Woods, who sued Kelly claiming he secretly videotaped her during a sexual encounter in his recording studio.
In response to the cases, Kelly's attorney Gerry Margolis claimed the singer was innocent and accused Susan E. Loggans, the lawyer who represented Hawkins and Sampson, of making a career of filing false claims against him. “The cash machine is closed,” he said following Jones' suit. “R. Kelly is no angel, but he is no monster, either. This latest suit is a collection of half-truths, distortions, and outright lies that we intend to fight and beat.”
to be continued...
R. Kelly: Tracking his career of alleged sexual misconduct
A disturbing new Buzzfeed News story published Monday, claiming R. Kelly lures women into "cult"-like sexual relationships, is the latest entry in the star's timeline of lawsuits, public controversies and reports of illicit behavior. In a statement to USA TODAY, the singer "unequivocally denied" the allegations via his lawyer Linda Mensch.
According to Buzzfeed, Kelly is keeping six women aged 18 to 31 in various properties in Chicago and Georgia, where he physically abuses them and secludes them from their families.
The story came from Jim DeRogatis, a freelance journalist who has reported on the cases against the singer for decades, stretching back to his initial bombshell report in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2000.
The R&B singer has a decades-long history of alleged sexual misconduct, settling numerous lawsuits out of court and was acquitted from a 2002 child pornography case, stemming from an anonymous sex tape. He continues to be embraced by some fans, critics and the music industry, and save for a 1996 battery charge, he has never been found guilty of any charges related to sexual misconduct in a court of law.
When did R. Kelly's troubles start?
On Aug. 31, 1994, R. Kelly, then 27, married the up and coming R&B singer Aaliyah, who was 15 years old at the time, in Rosemont, Ill. A falsified Cook County marriage certificate listed her age as 18, as DeRogatis later reported in the Sun-Times. Illinois prohibits adult men from having sex with girls under 17.
The marriage was annulled soon after and records were sealed.
The couple's short-lived marriage grabbed headlines at the time, but the incident didn't register as a major scandal for Kelly, whose career took off in the years following the annulment with three commercially-successful albums — 1995's R. Kelly, 1998's R and 2000's TP2.com — and winning three Grammys in 1998 for his chart-topping single I Believe I Can Fly.
When did his misdeeds first become public?
Kelly's history of legal battles didn't make headlines until 2000, when a Sun-Times article co-authored by DeRogatis detailed a disturbing lawsuit one woman brought against the singer.
According to the article, Tiffany Hawkins, an aspiring singer from Kelly's native Chicago, sued him in 1996 for $10 million in damages. In the suit, Hawkins alleged she “suffered personal injuries and severe emotional harm because she had sex with the singer and he encouraged her to participate in group sex with him and other underage girls," with their relations beginning in 1991, when she was 15. The lawsuit was settled in 1998.
A second Chicago woman who was named in the lawsuit described Kelly's "sickness" in the Sun-Times article, claiming she was involved in a threesome when she was 16 years old with Kelly and Hawkins.
Another woman in Los Angeles also told the Sun-Times Kelly began seducing her in 1999 at the age of 17, after they met on the set of his video for If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time. "I think that he really does have some kind of sexual problem," she said.
Over the next two years, Kelly settled three more cases out of court: Tracy Sampson, a former Epic Records intern who filed a civil suit against Kelly claiming he induced her "into an indecent sexual relationship," at age 17; Patrice Jones, who claimed Kelly coerced her into a sexual relationship, impregnated her and forced her to get an abortion; and Montina Woods, who sued Kelly claiming he secretly videotaped her during a sexual encounter in his recording studio.
In response to the cases, Kelly's attorney Gerry Margolis claimed the singer was innocent and accused Susan E. Loggans, the lawyer who represented Hawkins and Sampson, of making a career of filing false claims against him. “The cash machine is closed,” he said following Jones' suit. “R. Kelly is no angel, but he is no monster, either. This latest suit is a collection of half-truths, distortions, and outright lies that we intend to fight and beat.”
to be continued...
What happened with the tape?
In 2002, Chicago police opened an investigation into Kelly after a videotape was anonymously sent to the Sun-Times, allegedly showing him having sex with an underage girl. The girl in the video was identified to the Sun-Times by her aunt, who said that her niece would have been 14 in the tape.
Shortly after, Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography, corresponding to various acts shown in the tape. Upon his arrest at his vacation home in Florida, police would find additional explicit footage of Kelly, prompting 12 additional counts of child pornography that would later be dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants. Kelly pled not guilty on all counts.
Kelly would not see trial for another six years, a stretch that saw his career reach new heights. He released multiple albums including Chocolate Factory, which produced the hits Snake, Step in the Name of Love and Ignition (Remix); and TP.3: Reloaded, which included the first chapters of his “hip-hopera" Trapped in the Closet.
Kelly's trial began in 2008, and took only a few hours of deliberation for the jury to clear him of all charges. Through his spokesperson, Kelly thanked "(his fans) who stuck by him and supported him with such love...And most of all, he wants to thank God for giving him the strength to get through this."
"If we do anything with this prosecution, it shows the world how difficult this crime is to prosecute," Shauna Boliker, the lead prosecutor on the case, told the Sun-Times.
Did the trial hurt Kelly's career?
Save for a 2013 interview with DeRogatis, which saw Kelly's alleged misdeeds briefly returning to the headlines, the R&B singer has avoided controversy in recent years and continues to enjoy a successful music career, with Billboard naming Kelly the No. 1 R&B artist of the last 25 years in 2011.
He performed at the World Cup in 2010 and the official Grammys gala in 2011, and headlined the Coachella, Bonnaroo and Pitchfork Music festivals in 2013. His controversial autobiography Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me was published in 2012, with IFC debuting its Trapped in the Closet TV movie later that year.
What happens now?
Buzzfeed's new report won't necessarily result in new legal action against Kelly. All of the women cited in the story are of legal age (17 in Illinois and 16 in Georgia), and welfare checks by police in both Illinois and Georgia in the past year didn’t lead to charges. In January, when contacted by police, one of the women associated with Kelly told authorities she was “fine and did not want to be bothered.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...duct-court-cases-through-the-years/484550001/
In 2002, Chicago police opened an investigation into Kelly after a videotape was anonymously sent to the Sun-Times, allegedly showing him having sex with an underage girl. The girl in the video was identified to the Sun-Times by her aunt, who said that her niece would have been 14 in the tape.
Shortly after, Kelly was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography, corresponding to various acts shown in the tape. Upon his arrest at his vacation home in Florida, police would find additional explicit footage of Kelly, prompting 12 additional counts of child pornography that would later be dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants. Kelly pled not guilty on all counts.
Kelly would not see trial for another six years, a stretch that saw his career reach new heights. He released multiple albums including Chocolate Factory, which produced the hits Snake, Step in the Name of Love and Ignition (Remix); and TP.3: Reloaded, which included the first chapters of his “hip-hopera" Trapped in the Closet.
Kelly's trial began in 2008, and took only a few hours of deliberation for the jury to clear him of all charges. Through his spokesperson, Kelly thanked "(his fans) who stuck by him and supported him with such love...And most of all, he wants to thank God for giving him the strength to get through this."
"If we do anything with this prosecution, it shows the world how difficult this crime is to prosecute," Shauna Boliker, the lead prosecutor on the case, told the Sun-Times.
Did the trial hurt Kelly's career?
Save for a 2013 interview with DeRogatis, which saw Kelly's alleged misdeeds briefly returning to the headlines, the R&B singer has avoided controversy in recent years and continues to enjoy a successful music career, with Billboard naming Kelly the No. 1 R&B artist of the last 25 years in 2011.
He performed at the World Cup in 2010 and the official Grammys gala in 2011, and headlined the Coachella, Bonnaroo and Pitchfork Music festivals in 2013. His controversial autobiography Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me was published in 2012, with IFC debuting its Trapped in the Closet TV movie later that year.
What happens now?
Buzzfeed's new report won't necessarily result in new legal action against Kelly. All of the women cited in the story are of legal age (17 in Illinois and 16 in Georgia), and welfare checks by police in both Illinois and Georgia in the past year didn’t lead to charges. In January, when contacted by police, one of the women associated with Kelly told authorities she was “fine and did not want to be bothered.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...duct-court-cases-through-the-years/484550001/
Poor Aaliyah will seem to be remembered for this thing more in death than anything else she's done. I'm totally baffled by people who still support this man.
I don't remember hearing about any of this when Aaliyah was playing on the radio back in the day. I loved her music. But I also didn't watch much tv back then when my kids were younger.
Although I do remember an awards show where she was up for new artist maybe? Ricky Martin was the presenter and he pronounced her name wrong. She was very gracious when she went on stage but I was pissed. Jackass.
I think the history of underage girls thing is the problem. Not saying that Heff may not had underage girls roaming the playboy mansion but I think they were free to leave and most likely their underage-ness wasn't know widely.
He faced allegations of running a sex cult full of young female fans earlier this month.
And R. Kelly returned to the stage for the first time since the recent reports for a concert in Virginia Beach on Friday night.
As seen in an Instagram video posted by a fan, the R&B singer, 50, sang to the audience before grabbing a concert-goers phone and urging a fan to touch his own body.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...grinds-fans-phone-Virginia.html#ixzz4oJMmzqio
And R. Kelly returned to the stage for the first time since the recent reports for a concert in Virginia Beach on Friday night.
As seen in an Instagram video posted by a fan, the R&B singer, 50, sang to the audience before grabbing a concert-goers phone and urging a fan to touch his own body.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...grinds-fans-phone-Virginia.html#ixzz4oJMmzqio
A Woman Who Says She Had Underage Sex With R. Kelly Is Finally Telling Her Story
Jerhonda Pace was just 15 when she met her musical idol, R. Kelly, outside his child pornography trial. The alleged underage sexual relationship with him that followed and subsequent payouts mirror decades of allegations against the star.
In 2008, Jerhonda Johnson was a 15-year-old sophomore from Chicago’s south suburbs who cut high school every day to attend R. Kelly’s trial on 14 counts of making child pornography. The R&B superstar had no bigger fan, and Johnson was quoted in national media stories defending her musical idol.
Now a 24-year-old mother of three with the married name Jerhonda Pace, she tells BuzzFeed News that after the trial, when she was 16, she became one of many women traumatized by a sexual relationship with Kelly. Her detailed and well-documented story of accepting cash settlements from the star in return for signing nondisclosure agreements, which has not been previously reported, illustrates how Kelly has been able to silence young women he has allegedly wronged.
Several individuals with firsthand knowledge of the situation have supported Pace’s claims. Additionally, BuzzFeed News reviewed signed legal documents, drafts of settlements between Kelly and Pace, correspondence between Pace and the attorneys involved, a polygraph test performed at the request of her attorney regarding her relationship with Kelly, a probate court document opening an estate for Pace as the result of a civil settlement, and a subsequent payment made by Kelly’s management company to Pace. Representatives for Kelly did not respond to requests for comment.
Pace is the fourth former member of Kelly’s circle to tell BuzzFeed News that the star mentally and physically abuses the women closest to him. Kelly has faced similar allegations for years: In 2005, for example, his then-wife, Andrea Lee, filed for an order of protection in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging that her husband had slapped and hit her, and demanding “no contact at all by any means.” She later dropped that order.
Pace's story is different than previously reported accounts because she was underage when she and Kelly began a sexual relationship. Pace says she is talking now — and breaking a signed nondisclosure agreement — because she is concerned about women still living with Kelly in what police have been told is an abusive “cult,” as BuzzFeed News first reported last month. Pace says she’s particularly concerned about a friend she brought into Kelly’s circle when they were both teenagers and who multiple sources say still lives with Kelly.
Kelly has adamantly denied allegations of wrongdoing, and one alleged victim, 21-year-old Joycelyn Savage, has said she is doing fine. Her parents, and the parents of an 18-year-old aspiring singer from Florida, have all said they have been told there is an ongoing federal investigation into Kelly, but an FBI spokesman declined requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.
“If I can speak out and I can help them get out of that situation, that’s what I will do,” Pace says. “I didn’t have anybody to speak up on my behalf when I was going through what I was going through with him. He’s brainwashed them really bad, and it kind of reminds me of Charles Manson.”
“I just really hope I can help these women out,” she says. “Kelly needs to be stopped.”
Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimderogat...man-speaks-out?utm_term=.ih5LMvKMX#.wvXeL8yLo
Jerhonda Pace was just 15 when she met her musical idol, R. Kelly, outside his child pornography trial. The alleged underage sexual relationship with him that followed and subsequent payouts mirror decades of allegations against the star.
In 2008, Jerhonda Johnson was a 15-year-old sophomore from Chicago’s south suburbs who cut high school every day to attend R. Kelly’s trial on 14 counts of making child pornography. The R&B superstar had no bigger fan, and Johnson was quoted in national media stories defending her musical idol.
Now a 24-year-old mother of three with the married name Jerhonda Pace, she tells BuzzFeed News that after the trial, when she was 16, she became one of many women traumatized by a sexual relationship with Kelly. Her detailed and well-documented story of accepting cash settlements from the star in return for signing nondisclosure agreements, which has not been previously reported, illustrates how Kelly has been able to silence young women he has allegedly wronged.
Several individuals with firsthand knowledge of the situation have supported Pace’s claims. Additionally, BuzzFeed News reviewed signed legal documents, drafts of settlements between Kelly and Pace, correspondence between Pace and the attorneys involved, a polygraph test performed at the request of her attorney regarding her relationship with Kelly, a probate court document opening an estate for Pace as the result of a civil settlement, and a subsequent payment made by Kelly’s management company to Pace. Representatives for Kelly did not respond to requests for comment.
Pace is the fourth former member of Kelly’s circle to tell BuzzFeed News that the star mentally and physically abuses the women closest to him. Kelly has faced similar allegations for years: In 2005, for example, his then-wife, Andrea Lee, filed for an order of protection in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging that her husband had slapped and hit her, and demanding “no contact at all by any means.” She later dropped that order.
Pace's story is different than previously reported accounts because she was underage when she and Kelly began a sexual relationship. Pace says she is talking now — and breaking a signed nondisclosure agreement — because she is concerned about women still living with Kelly in what police have been told is an abusive “cult,” as BuzzFeed News first reported last month. Pace says she’s particularly concerned about a friend she brought into Kelly’s circle when they were both teenagers and who multiple sources say still lives with Kelly.
Kelly has adamantly denied allegations of wrongdoing, and one alleged victim, 21-year-old Joycelyn Savage, has said she is doing fine. Her parents, and the parents of an 18-year-old aspiring singer from Florida, have all said they have been told there is an ongoing federal investigation into Kelly, but an FBI spokesman declined requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.
“If I can speak out and I can help them get out of that situation, that’s what I will do,” Pace says. “I didn’t have anybody to speak up on my behalf when I was going through what I was going through with him. He’s brainwashed them really bad, and it kind of reminds me of Charles Manson.”
“I just really hope I can help these women out,” she says. “Kelly needs to be stopped.”
Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimderogat...man-speaks-out?utm_term=.ih5LMvKMX#.wvXeL8yLo